Foreign trade and inclusion in supply chains had already increased in recent years, supported by EU membership by most CEE (Central and Eastern European) countries in 2004.
The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a mobility crisis, mainly because of physical distancing requirements and the necessity to avoid confined spaces, to limit the virus’propagation. This has had a disastrous impact on the global transport sector, with air passenger transport being the most affected segment.
As the COVID-19 epidemic hits the United States very hard, Coface forecasts in its baseline scenario that the country's GDP will contract by 5.6% in 2020, before rebounding by 3.3% in 2021. Nevertheless, this forecast is threatened by the resurgence of the outbreak in several states, which are already pausing or even reversing the resumption of activity after the extensive lockdown of April.
Coface announces the closing of the acquisition of GIEK Kredittforsikring AS, a company that manages a short-term export credit insurance portfolio.
Although the second quarter of 2020 is shaping up to be the most challenging period of the year, there are now good reasons to think that the road to recovery will be long and arduous. Despite immediate tax deferrals, liquidity guarantees, it is likely that many firms will find themselves in difficulty.
Coface announces today the appointment of Shinkichi Hayashi as Japan Country Manager effective 1 June 2020. Shinkichi will replace Tetsuya Komatsu, who has decided to leave Coface for personal reasons. We would like to sincerely thank Tetsuya for his contributions.
