Publications

At the start of 2023, against the backdrop of rather gloomy economic forecasts, we looked for ‘bright spots’ in the global economy.

High food prices add to Sub-Saharan Africa's economic woes

The Atradius Payment Practices Barometer is an annual survey of business-to-business (B2B) payment practices in markets across the world. These are the survey findings for Eastern Europe.

The global economy is facing an unprecedented mix of challenges which are bringing it to the brink of recession in 2023.

Chemicals - global performance at a glance

A sharper focus on de-carbonisation strategies

Lockdowns and lower economic growth weigh on the industry

Still resilient, but profitability is under threat

Increasing pressure from overseas competitors

Most businesses are able to cope with the difficult market conditions

More resilient to market shocks than other industries

Pressure on profitability to remain limited

Concerns about liquidity strain have increased

The Atradius Payment Practices Barometer is an annual survey of business-to-business (B2B) payment practices in markets across the world.

Businesses experience difficulties to source inputs as a result of shocks to global value chains

As government support measures related to the pandemic have ended almost everywhere, we expect insolvencies to rise sharply in some major markets.

Ongoing political uncertainty could weigh negatively on investor sentiment

Still robust demand from construction, but downside risks persist.

Financially resilient businesses, but downside risks loom

Higher sales prices do not yet compensate for rise in input prices

Lockdowns and woes in the real estate sector weigh on the industry

Shortage of gas supplies is a major downside risk

Robust demand situation set to continue

Gas supply is the key issue

Increasing insolvencies – but from a historically low level

Payment delays and defaults have started to increase in the industry

Profit margins of many business increased in 2021, but several markets are facing major downside risks

Many businesses are financially resilient after a good performance in 2021

Only a slight increase in business failures expected

Procedury upadłościowe często są przewlekłe i uciążliwe, a w przypadku dłużnika zagranicznego mogą wiązać się z jeszcze większym stopniem złożoności. Przedstawiamy jak możemy usprawnić ten proces.

Despite rising inflation in the eurozone, we argue it has not yet sprung loose from the ECB target in the medium term

Vietnam: despite some headwinds the economic performance remains strong, and provides business opportunities for exporters

Economic disruptions from the war in Ukraine, lingering lockdown restrictions and multi-decade high inflation have generated a new set of adverse shocks for the global economy

An economic rebound is underway and sectors have recovered, but downside risks persist

Over than 10% increase in the Mexico market in the levels of both B2B customer payment defaults and bad debts written off as uncollectible.

Days-Sales-Outstanding worsens (DSO) for one third of companies polled across all US industries. Payment default from B2B customers remains a major headache for companies.

The need for strong strategic credit risk management is a high priority in the Canadian market.

The impact of the alarming surge of inflation on businesses, and the consequent need to protect cash flow and profitability, lies at the heart of our latest survey in the USMCA.

The 2022 edition of the Atradius Payment Practices Barometer for Asia reveals a sharp rise in B2B bad debts written off as uncollectable. This represents a threat of liquidity strains for businesses.

Companies polled in India told us of the difficulty they found in collecting long unpaid trade debt.

An alarming increase in bad debt write-offs worries companies in Hong Kong, prompting them to seek strategic credit risk management solutions.

Our survey shows a sharp rise in bad debts written off as uncollectable, revealing a disturbing deterioration in B2B payment practices.

Companies polled said they tackled the issue with more regular reviews of customer credit behavior to spot warning signs of financial distress.

Companies polled in Vietnam said they needed measures to avoid being liquidity squeezed due to the impacts of customer payment default on the business.

Debts written off as uncollectable showed an alarming 50% increase in the Singapore market compared to our past survey.

A wide range of protective measures to mitigate against the impact of customer payment default were used by businesses polled in the United Arab Emirates.

Businesses polled in China fear that a knock-on effect of payment defaults from B2B customers will trigger liquidity issues.

ICT is expected to be among the fastest growing sectors in manufacturing, driven by accelerating digitalisation and industrial automation

Lower, but still solid ICT sales and production growth

Government aims to accelerate the digital transformation