Energy More Risky than Ever; Information and Communication Technologies Improves; Automotive Adjusts

 Coface, in its quarterly review, has revised its risk assessment for three sectors: Automotive in emerging Asia, Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), and Energy in all regions. Despite the difficulties of the oil industry, North America remains the least risky region overall.

Energy: Heightened Risk in All Regions

The new fall in oil prices has led Coface to downgrade the energy sector in the three regions it follows, Western Europe, North America and Emerging Asia. They now represent a "high" level of risk. The leading oil companies are reducing their investments, weakening the oil service companies.

• Of the regions, North America, which had already been downgraded last April, remains hardest hit by the fall in oil prices, despite the upturn in its economy in the 2^nd quarter (forecast growth of 2.5% for 2015 and 2016). In addition to the drastic cuts in investment, exploration/production companies have a high level of debt and prices are subject to downward pressure.
• In Western Europe, the industry has been hit by some countries halting the development of shale gas operations and by the collapse in oil prices, forcing some companies to reduce capital expenditure.
• Although affected by the slowdown in China, the impact has been less in emerging Asia, since the public nature of the leading oil companies provides them with safeguards. Even so, there will be major repercussions for the players without access to public financing.

Automotive in Emerging Asia: Downgraded to "medium” risk

The automotive industry is undergoing some adjustments. It is doing well in North America, thanks in particular to an acceleration in luxury vehicle sales. In Western Europe, after many restructuring programs designed to reduce costs, a return to growth is bringing hope to the sector. However, the Volkswagen scandal could cloud the picture, in particular for Germany and Central European countries where the group has a sizeable proportion of local sales.

The situation is more difficult in emerging Asia, which Coface has downgraded to "medium" risk. Sales growth fell to 2.6% in China for the first eight months of 2015. The slowdown in the Chinese economy and increased competition have had an impact on activity for manufacturers, who must adapt to a "new growth standard" far from the double-digit levels enjoyed in the past.

Reduced Risk for ICT, Underpinned by the Recovery in Europe

The assessment for the information and communication technologies sector is now the same for all the geographic zones since the risk level in Western Europe is now "medium." Lower costs, combined with the development of new video platforms, have contributed to maintaining demand, due to higher levels of private consumption. Finally, good progress has been made in developing storage services for individuals. There is still market share to be captured by companies.

Although they have reached a slight saturation, the companies in emerging Asia could build on other relays, such as the development of 4G. In North America, players in the sector are faced with strong competitive pressure in telecommunications, with "new" players such as Facebook and Google.

Metals and Paper/Wood Under Watch

Like energy, the metals sector is also experiencing a worldwide fall in prices, especially in North America, and has been hard hit by the problems of overcapacity in emerging Asia.

The paper/wood sector is faced with overcapacity problems and competition from electronic media. However, in emerging Asia it is boosted by processing for export.