NEWS RELEASES
CEBIT '96: SHOWCASE FOR CANADIAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CAPABILITIES
March 4, 1996 No. 32
CEBIT '96: SHOWCASE FOR CANADIAN INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY CAPABILITIES
More than 60 Canadian information technology companies will exhibit
telecommunications equipment and computer hardware, software and services at CeBIT
'96 in Hannover, Germany, from March 14 to 20, 1996, International Trade Minister
Art Eggleton and Industry Minister John Manley announced today.
CeBIT (which stands for World Centre for Office, Information and
Telecommunications) is the world's most widely attended and comprehensive showcase
of information systems, office automation, telecommunications products and
services attracting more than 6000 companies from about 60 countries.
The theme of Canada's Pavilion will be "Canada in Cyberspace." Internet is a
world phenomenon, and Industry Canada will host a Web site through which visitors
to the Pavilion can obtain information about Canada's Internet product suppliers
and link directly to their Web sites.
"Canada in Cyberspace" will showcase Internet products, including hardware,
software, information services, Web software, authoring tools, ISDN hardware,
modems, routers and firewalls, from Canadian companies seeking international
partners. Several Canadian companies exhibiting at CeBIT will unveil and display
new and innovative products and services related to the Internet.
"Canada has a cutting-edge information technology sector and the more than 700 000
people that are expected to attend CeBIT will discover the leading-edge products
on display in the Canada Pavilion and meet with the members of Team Canada," said
Mr. Manley.
"CeBIT is unparalleled, as no other comparable exhibition has so much to offer in
such a concentrated, yet accessible and structured format," stated Mr. Eggleton.
"This year again, the Canadian presence at CeBIT will be heightened by the teaming
efforts of government in support of the Canadian information technology industry."
Canadian firms of all sizes have participated in the CeBIT trade show since 1985,
establishing new strategic alliances and business partnerships through connections
made at the exhibition. Companies can exhibit independently or opt for the
convenience and cost-effectiveness of the national stand organized by the federal
government. This year 35 companies are participating with the Canada Pavilion.
There are 25 exhibition halls at Deutsche Messe AG, Hannover, filled with the best
the world has to offer in information technology, network computing, software,
telecommunications, office technology, bank technology, and security equipment and
card technology.
CeBIT attracts more distributors, wholesalers, agents, retailers and importers
than any other computer and communications trade show in the world. Germany's
place at the crossroads of eastern, western and central Europe enhances CeBIT's
status as a platform for initiating profitable, enduring partnerships.
Canada's information technology and telecommunications sector -- including
telecommunications, software, computer services, computers, peripherals and
components -- generated $54.6 billion in revenues in 1994, an increase of 10 per
cent from 1993. The contribution to Canadian GDP by this sector was over $30
billion in 1994, up from the 1993 level of $27 billion.
There are about 15 000 firms in the sector that employed 308 249 people in 1994
(excluding the self-employed). This is up from 298 376 the previous year, an
increase of 3.3 per cent. Canadian companies are at the forefront of much of the
new development in information technology, especially in software products and
geomatics solutions.
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A backgrounder on Team Canada is attached.
A detailed press kit of background information about Canada's information
technology sector and CeBIT participation is available upon request.
For more information, please contact:
Media Relations Office
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(613) 995-1874
Keith Chang
Industry Canada
(613) 990-4238
Backgrounder
TEAM CANADA -- SHARE IN THE SUCCESS
The Canadian presence at CeBIT builds on the Team Canada partnership to further
develop international business opportunities for Canada. Team Canada is the
collaborative approach to doing international business used by the federal and
provincial governments and the private sector. It ensures a targeted, co-ordinated and effective international business development strategy for Canada
that focusses on attracting foreign investment and technology transfer.
Canada seeks to diversify both the composition and the destination of exports as
well as to broaden the base of Canadian companies involved in international trade
and investment. The objective is to double the number of active exporters by the
year 2000 by using the Team Canada approach.
More than almost any other country in the developed world, Canada depends on
exports for jobs and economic growth. This leads to a growing economy and to
well-paying jobs in industries of the future.
International business is key to furthering economic growth and creating jobs for
Canadians. It has been estimated that every $1 billion increase in export sales
generates about 11 000 new jobs in Canada.
The Team Canada approach helps Canadian firms, particularly small enterprises,
export to more markets through the establishment of strategic alliances and
business partnerships made during trade missions or trade fairs such as CeBIT.
To serve business more effectively, the Government is pursuing new approaches
based on a Team Canada partnership with the provinces and the private sector.
Designed to put into place better and more efficient international business
development services and activities, the approaches include:
Canada's International Business Strategy to integrate export strategies for 22
individual industry sectors.
National Sector Teams to develop, with the private sector, strategies to compete
abroad. The teams are comprised of key public and private sector representatives
who will develop sectoral action plans to pursue international business more
effectively.
Regional Trade Networks to ensure effective service delivery across Canada.
These networks are pooling expertise and resources to provide more efficient
services and information to business clients including Regional Trade Plans.
International Business Opportunities Centre to offer quick response to Canadian
firms on specific market opportunities.
Providing Canadian businesses with market information and intelligence, as well
as key contacts to pursue global opportunities.
Stronger partnerships and business networks will provide more strategic and
effective international business development, foreign investment and technology
transfer programs and services to help Canadian business compete internationally.
An outstanding example of the Team Canada approach was Prime Minister Chrétien's
landmark visit to China in 1994 accompanied by nine provincial premiers and nearly
400 business people.
"To say that Team Canada scored would be the understatement of the decade," the
Prime Minister said at a Canada-China Business Council event organized in
conjunction with the visit to Canada last October by Chinese Premier Li Peng.
"Team Canada signed more than $8 billion worth of deals between Canadian
businesses and Chinese partners."
The Prime Minister also noted that the impact of Team Canada is still being felt.
Canadian firms are reporting an additional $850 million worth of business from the
initiatives of the Team Canada trade mission to China.
The success of the Team Canada approach was recently demonstrated through the over
$8 billion in business conducted during the Team Canada trade mission to South
Asia. Contracts signed amounted to more than $2.9 billion in India, more than $2
billion in Pakistan, $2.76 billion in Indonesia, and $445 million in Malaysia.
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