-
NSK Canada, a member of the NSK Ltd. Group of companies headquartered in Japan, appointed Michael St. Jacques to the position of General Manager for the global bearing and linear motion company's Canadian operations. The company provides motion and control products and engineering support to customers in sectors such as automotive, food, mining, oil and gas, pulp and paper, energy and others. The company's expansion plans include:
- Expanding the technical support team in the Atlantic Region, Ontario, Quebec and Alberta to provide additional customer support and advice on maximizing NSK bearing performance;
- Leveraging the learning from NSK's 13 global technology centres and $60 million annual research investment to solve customers' complex technical challenges.
-
Vancouver-based Tekmira Pharmaceuticals, a developer of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics, has entered a new research collaboration with Pfizer. The companies will collaborate on evaluating Tekmira’s stable nucleic acid-lipid particle (SNALP) technology to deliver small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules provided by Pfizer. Tekmira will be responsible for preparing the SNALP formulations and Pfizer will evaluate the formulations in preclinical models.
-
Hind High Vacuum (HHV), an India-based vacuum technology company, has set up a thin-film solar photovoltaic (SPV) module production line in Canada with a capacity of 10 megawatt a year. The company has also formed a joint venture with Canada's Solar Source Corporation (SSC) to establish the country’s first thin-film amorphous silicon solar panel manufacturing plant. The plant will be established in Prince Edward Island and have an annual capacity of 120 MW, to be established in four phases, with 30 MW coming up in the phase one. The plant will make panels for the building-integrated, ground-mount and commercial rooftop markets. The joint venture also includes a proposal to build in four phases a 120 MW crystalline silicon solar panel manufacturing facility in Ontario. The total investment on the two projects will be around $240 million.
-
A delegation of 22 businesses and organizations from Atlantic Canada’s seafood industry will head to the International Boston Seafood Show. The annual industry trade show attracts 16,000 top-tier buyers and sellers of seafood from more than 90 countries. The trade mission delegation includes representatives from fisheries, seafood and aquaculture companies and organizations from across Atlantic Canada. The delegates will exhibit in one Atlantic Canadian pavilion to attempt to gain international exposure for their seafood products and services.
-
The Canadian Budget has proposed to amend the definition of "taxable Canadian property" to generally exclude shares of any Canadian-resident corporation, whether or not the shares are listed on a designated stock exchange, with a few exceptions. As a result of this proposed amendment, the Section 116 Certificate process will not apply to a disposition of shares of a Canadian corporation except where the value of the shares is derived from real property situated in Canada, Canadian resource properties or timber properties. This will eliminate what has long been an irritant to foreign private equity and venture capital investors, particularly those structured as limited partnerships.
-
In an effort lure oil and gas investment to the province, the Alberta government will modify conventional oil and natural gas royalty rates, promote more innovation and use of new technologies, and reduce unnecessary red tape while improving coordination of regulatory processes. Currently almost one in seven Albertans are directly or indirectly employed by the energy industry. Changes to improve Alberta’s competitiveness are expected to create 8,000 jobs in 2011-12 and then 13,000 more jobs annually across the economy. Over the next 25 years conventional oil and gas development in Alberta has the potential to add $2.5 trillion in new economic activity.
-
The province of Ontario has announced plans to be North America’s clean water technology capital. The province will introduce a “Water Opportunities Act” that is expected to create incentives to attract investors and companies to participate in an export-oriented sector that already employs about 22,000 people in the province.
-
Executives from the Ontario Technology Corridor are in California attending the Game Developers Conference 2010 to showcase Ontario's digital entertainment companies. Thirty-five Ontario gaming companies are at GDC 2010 to showcase their creations, make business connections, and help gaming investments to the province. Ontario's entertainment and creative cluster produces $15 billion in revenue and over 200,000 jobs, along with a $12.7 billion contribution to the province's GDP.
-
Ontario is becoming a magnet for global companies in the green energy sector, drawn by alluring subsidies at a time when incentives are being scaled back elsewhere. Already this year, South Korea's Samsung C&T Corp and Bosch Solar Energy have said they will set up shop, and more are expected to follow. The provincial supports is attracting these companies as well as the proximity to the U.S. market. Ontario, which is phasing out its coal-fired power stations and looking for cleaner energy options, last October unveiled the richest set of tariffs in North America for feeding power generated by renewable sources into the grid.
-
The Royal Bank of Scotland said it's opening an oil and gas advisory in Calgary. The Edinburgh-based RBS said it will open the Calgary office to take advantage of the economic recovery in the city's oil and gas sector. RBS said this is move is a vote of confidence in the Canadian oilpatch. Calgary will be an extension of the bank's Houston practice and its oil and gas advisory in the United States, which carries out reserves-based lending, mergers and acquisitions and risk management services for large and mid-cap firms where RBS had previously concentrated on Canadian large caps.
-
Total profits for Canada's six biggest banks surged to $5.3 billion in the first quarter as loan losses fell and their domestic operations flourished. The positive earnings were driven by strong growth in mortgage lending and other domestic business. Those profits are about 75% higher than they were in the first quarter last year. None had a return on equity below 14%.
-
Canada’s Technology Triangle will be traveling to Los Angeles and San Francisco to promote Ontario, and specifically Waterloo Region, as the ideal place to establish digital media operations in North America. Included among the reasons are the extensive talent pool, strong and stable economy and the variety of investment incentives. This foreign direct investment attraction mission will include meeting with animation and special effects companies in Los Angeles. The mission will continue as it travels to San Francisco to the Game Developers Conference where prequalified meetings have been arranged with global companies in the digital media sector that are seeking opportunities to expand their operations.
-
Saskatchewan's mining sector will be showcased at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) International Convention taking place in Toronto. The conference is expected to attract up to 20,000 delegates from around the world for the convention and its accompanying trade show and investors exchange. The province's mining industry is coming off another solid year. Exploration expenditures are expected to top $290 million for 2009. According to Natural Resources Canada, Saskatchewan accounted for 16% of Canada's exploration expenditures in 2009.
-
South Korean firm Daewoo will open a $90 million plant to manufacture wind-turbine components in Nova Scotia. The plant in Pictou County will initially employ 200 workers with the possibility to expand to 400. Nova Scotia is going to be a partner in the joint venture with Daewoo.
-
Jampro, formerly Jamaica Trade and Invest, has re-opened its office in Canada. The office will service all of North America and is situated at the Jamaican Consulate General in Toronto. Jampro will be seeking to promote and introduce Jamaican products to potential buyers and also to try to encourage Canadian businesses to look at Jamaica favourably as a location to invest.
