October 2013 BC Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Asian LNG buyers look to North America as Australia taps out




North America has pushed Australia out of the top spot for new Asian investment in gas development, with most of the supply from existing Australian projects sold off and buyers hunting for cheaper fuel, industry executives said this week.




Australia has been for the past several years the global hotspot for Asian gas investors, with US$190-billion in liquefied natural gas (LNG) developments under way to take advantage of its proximity to top buyers such as Japan and South Korea.





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[Ally]

BC sawmills closed as beetle epidemic erodes supply




Forestry giants Canfor and West Fraser announced Thursday they will close two Interior sawmills next year because the pine beetle epidemic has gutted their timber supply.




The closures, which also involve a swap of timber harvesting rights between the two companies, will result in 434 job losses in the communities of Quesnel and Houston.





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[Ally]

BC lumber industry not expected to meet U.S. demand




Plans by West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. and Canfor Corp. to close sawmills in the B.C. interior have raised concerns that lumber output in the region will lag demand driven by a rebound in the U.S. housing market.




B.C. interior sawmills operated by firms such as West Fraser and Canfor have been largely relying on timber left over from years ago, when mountain pine beetles decimated forests in the region. The infestation of pine beetles began in the late 1990s and peaked in 2005





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[Ally]

Amazon to open major Vancouver office




Amazon will open an office in Vancouver with capacity for up to 1,000 workers, a local tech news site is reporting.




The report from TechVibes says the online retailing giant has committed to 91,000 square feet of space in the new Telus Garden, a $750-million complex under construction on most of the block bounded by Robson, Seymour, Georgia and Richards in downtown Vancouver.





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[Ally]

BC has most small businesses per capita in Canada




Small business is big business in British Columbia.




According to the 2013 Small Business Profile, B.C. has the most small businesses per capita in Canada, at 83.5 per 1,000 people.





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