Statistics Canada - Statistique Canada
Skip main navigation menuSkip secondary navigation menuHomeFrançaisContact UsHelpSearch the websiteCanada Site
The DailyCanadian StatisticsCommunity ProfilesProducts and servicesHome
CensusCanadian StatisticsCommunity ProfilesProducts and servicesOther links

Warning View the most recent version.

Archived Content

Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.

Media Room Search The Daily View or print The Daily in PDF format. Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader The Daily archives Latest release from the Labour Force Survey Latest release from the Consumer Price Index Recently released products Latest economic indicators Release dates Get a FREE subscription to The Daily Information about The Daily The Daily
Monday, March 14, 2005

Study: Canadian direct investment in offshore financial centers

1990 to 2003

From 1990 to 2003, Canadian enterprises invested substantial and growing amounts in countries known as "Offshore Financial Centers" (OFCs), many of them in the Caribbean.

Between 1990 and 2003, Canadian assets in OFCs increased eight-fold, from $11 billion to $88 billion. These centres include countries that are often referred to as "tax havens", as well as those with an especially important financial sector, such as Switzerland.

OFCs accounted for more than one-fifth of all Canadian direct investment abroad in 2003, double the proportion 13 years earlier.

Among them, the largest growth in Canadian direct investment during this time occurred in Barbados, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas and Ireland. By 2003, these 5 were among the 11 nations with the most Canadian assets.

Meanwhile, the share of Canadian direct investment going to the United States, Canada's main economic partner, has declined considerably. In 2000, Canadian enterprises held fewer assets in the United States than in all other countries combined.

Since 1999, the financial sector has accounted for more Canadian assets than any other sector, ahead of processing, services and manufacturing.

Direct investment mainly serves to finance the creation of new enterprises, the acquisition of existing ones and the activities of foreign affiliates.

This new report, published today in the electronic publication Analysis in Brief, analyses Canadian direct investment in OFCs between 1990 and 2003. It also provides an analysis of the distribution of Canadian direct investment assets in OFCs and elsewhere in the world by industry. And it measures and analyses their contribution to the growth of assets held abroad by Canadian enterprises.

The $88 billion in assets invested in OFCs were mainly concentrated in the financial sector, which alone accounted for $72 billion, including $53 billion in banking services.

In the financial sector, Canadian companies are investing far more of their assets in OFCs than they are in either the United States or elsewhere in the world.

The average annual rate of growth of Canadian direct investment was higher in these countries (+18%) than in the United States (+8%) and in other countries (+14%).

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey numbers, including related surveys, 1506, 1529, 1530 and 1531.

The analytical article Canadian Direct Investment in "Offshore Financial Centers" no. 21 (11-621-MIE2005021, free) is now available online in the Analysis in Brief series. From the Our products and services page, under Browse our Internet publications, choose Free, then Trade.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact François Lavoie (613-951-5416), Balance of Payments Division.



Home | Search | Contact Us | Français Return to top of page
Date Modified: 2005-03-14 Important Notices