Coface picks Manchester to stage economy conference
Manchester has been chosen as the first location outside London to stage the Coface UK & Ireland Country Risk Conference.
Coface, a leading provider of country, sector and business climate ratings and a world leader in credit management services, will hold the free half-day conference in the city in the summer this year.
Coface provide country ratings for 165 countries, which assess the average level of risk of payment default associated with companies and business sectors in each country.
The organisation serves businesses that trade either domestically or overseas on credit terms and also provides a 'business climate' rating to assess the overall business environment in a country and the degree and reliability of corporate information and if a country's legal system provides fair and efficient creditor protection.
More than 250 delegates from the UK and Ireland are due to attend the Manchester conference and delegates will include finance directors and credit management professionals, their advisers and those with an interest in country risk. They will hear economists and country risk specialists speak on economic and trade conditions from a global, UK and regional perspective and will receive practical advice on credit management.
Gust speakers will address topics such as:
- the UK economy – risks and opportunities
- the North West economy in the context of the UK
- and advice on credit risk mitigation
It is still to be confirmed who will be speaking at the conference. However, Mark Berrisford-Smith, senior economist at HSBC bank, Yves Zlotowski, chief economist at Coface and Graham Hutchings, managing editor of The Oxford Analytica Daily Brief have all spoken at the conference held in London in the past.
The conference will be hosted by Xavier Denecker, managing director of Coface UK & Ireland, as he has done previously.
He said: "We are delighted to be bringing our flagship event to Manchester. The city is the logical and obvious location for the first ever Coface – UK & Ireland Country Risk Conference outside of London because it is the second city and boasts a vibrant professional and financial services sector.
"Its position between two other major centres in Liverpool and Leeds also attracted us to Manchester and we very much look forward to welcoming delegates from throughout the North and further afield."
The arrival of the conference has also been welcomed by Paul Simpson, managing director of Visit Manchester, the tourist board for Greater Manchester.
He added: "It is great news that Coface has chosen to bring its conference to Manchester and to such a fantastic venue. With the city attracting a significant number of high profile national and international events over recent years, they are certainly in good company."
Coface UK & Ireland has offices in London, Watford, Leeds, Birmingham, Cardiff and Dublin.
It is part of Coface Group, which is based in Paris and owned by Natixis, a top five investment and corporate bank in France.
The Coface UK & Ireland Country Risk Conference will be held on Wednesday 9 June at the Palace Hotel on Oxford Street, Manchester.
- For further information visit the Place North West Events Listings
