Page 66 - Canadian Industry Online

CANADIAN INDUSTRY ONLINE - OCTOBER 2015 Hedging can be used — which is a form of insurance — as well as insur- ance against sudden foreign exchange rate fluctuations. Businesses can use hedging strategies supported by finan- cial institutions, but there are also nat- ural hedging strategies which can be very important for offsetting exchange rate risks. A natural hedging strategy may be to balance out imports and ex- ports, or to balance out the content of foreign debt to ensure your business is not exposed to the wild swings in cur- rency that we’ve seen over the past 10or 15 years.Companies should be consider- ing these strategies, and should also be taking advantage of the financing and hedging services from EDC and other financing institutions.What is one key to success all Canadian companies should focus on moving forward?Things are changing on such a rapid basis. The Canadian dollar is falling because the US dollar looks relatively strong and it is possible66