HSBC Bank Canada has announced that it has earmarked $1 billion over the next 18 months to support Canadian small and medium size businesses (SMEs) seeking international growth. This funding is available to qualifying new and current HSBC customers with annual revenue of $3 million to $250 million and interest in cross border trading or global expansion.

Canada enjoys strong, historic trade ties with the United States , yet HSBC research shows that greater global economic growth is taking place in emerging markets and that Canadian companies are starting to look to new trade routes. HSBC’s February 2013 Global Connections Trade Forecast report revealed that, while the top three markets for Canadian exports are the USA, the UK, and China , the fastest growing corridors of Canada’s export growth by 2030 will be Asia and the Middle East . In addition, exports to the Eurozone and Latin America are projected to grow by at least 10 per cent over the same period.

Linda Seymour , Executive Vice President, Head of Commercial Banking, HSBC Bank Canada said: “Statistics show that Canadian companies who do business internationally tend to grow faster over the longer term than companies focused solely on domestic activity. Throughout its history, HSBC has been connecting customers to opportunities, enabling business to thrive and economies to prosper, and this initiative builds on that tradition.”