|
Canadian
Imperialism Doing
Just Fine,
Thanks
by Barry Weisleder / December 2006
Corporate giants headquartered in Canada are significantly larger and more
numerous than they were 20 years ago, according to the University of
Toronto’s Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity (don’t ya just love
the name?).
In 1985, thirty-three Canadian companies ranked among
the top five in the world in their particular business. Now, the Canadian
corporate elite has more than doubled its global impact, with 72 companies
that lead the world.
In a study to be released early in 2007, the business
school also found that average annual revenue for Canada's leading
companies is $3.7 billion, up from $2 billion in 1985, after adjusting for
inflation.
Canadians concerned about the foreign takeover of
household names such as Hiram Walker, Hudson's Bay Co., and more recently,
Inco and Falconbridge, need not worry. James Milway, the institute's
director, argued that those folks frequently don't notice the ascendance of
global players such as auto parts maker Linamar and health sciences giant
MDS Inc.
"There's a lot of renewal and churn going on in
Corporate Canada," he said.
"We ought not to get fixated on the big announcements."
The conclusions are the result of an extensive
examination of all the ups and downs of Canada's leading companies over the
past 20 years. Roger Martin, dean of the U of T's Rotman School of
Management and head of the institute, argues that rather than dwelling on
companies that have been taken over by foreign investors, business and
political leaders should focus on fostering new world-class entities to
take their place in specific, albeit narrower, market niches.
Twenty years ago, Canadian firms led in basic fields
such as spirits and wines, nickel, asbestos, solid waste management and
real estate. Today, according to the study, Canadian companies lead in
environmental compliance technology, postage stamps, gastrointestinal
products and wollastonite, a mineral fibre used in ceramics, auto parts and
concrete.
That trend will likely persist into the future, Mr.
Martin said. As globalization speeds up, big countries with big markets
produce global companies that gobble their smaller competitors -- unless
the smaller competitors develop dominance in their own market niche, he
said.
To survive, the idea is to ‘specialize’, and then
acquire others in your field -- what ever may be the cost to workers and
consumers. A case in point is Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund. Since the
Toronto-based company became an income trust in 2001, it has bought interests
in Switzerland and the United States. It is now a global leader in
sulphuric acid, liquid sulphur dioxide, and sodium hydrosulphite.
"What's happening is an industrial revolution-like
transformation . . . a global rearrangement of industries," Mr. Martin
said. "Some of each nation's companies are going out and buying
companies and going global, and some are getting bought up. That's just the
nature of the beast."
Indeed it is.
Issues From 1996-2003:
|
