Capital/Investment

Culture of investment thriving in Wisconsin

Rowser — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:06:46 -0300

Author

Rebecca Penty

Source

Telegraph Journal, Published Tuesday June 30th, 2009

Source Url

http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/rss/article/714051

Image

Image Caption

Grainger Hall houses the University of Wisconsin Business School, centre, in Madison, Wis. Wisconsin’s economy has benefitted from new investor and entrepreneurial networks, research and development commercialization programs, aggressive tax reform and a governor’s business plan competition. A university-led movement to commercialize R&D encourages startups to form. Entrepreneurs are provided with ample space, at low cost, under ‘favourable’ conditions and offered research and development resources. Photo by: Bloomberg News

Body

New Brunswick Securities Commission turns to U.S. state as a prime example of fostering investment growth

New Brunswick has found a model for promoting entrepreneurship in a U.S. state whose economy has traditionally relied on farming, mining and forestry.

Wisconsin's love affair with startups and investors - which has transcended the business community and made its way to the state legislature - has had the New Brunswick Securities Commission and other interested parties playing copycat.

"They, at the peak of the dot-com boom, they discovered they were in 48th or 49th place. They said, jee, everybody else is doing well, why are we last?" said Rick Hancox, the executive director of the securities commission.

"There was a real recognition that they had to encourage that investment culture."

Hancox recently returned from a trip to the state, his second in three years, to see how its economy has benefitted from new investor and entrepreneur networks, research and development commercialization programs, aggressive tax reform and a governor's business plan competition.

"One of the things we saw in Wisconsin was from the government down - the governor, the two key departments "¦ They were very much aligned that this was the game plan," Hancox said.

New Brunswick has emulated some of Wisconsin's moves and added its own twists.

The state's work inspired the annual Fullsail Summit the securities commission began hosting in 2007 to bring together parties around an agenda to grow capital markets.

The New Brunswick Innovation Foundation's Breakthru business competition, which also started in the same year, is similar to the governor of Wisconsin's contest, now six years old.

And a more liberal small business investor tax credit - pushed forward by the province this spring - is working to achieve the same ends as its Wisconsin equivalent.

Hancox got turned onto Wisconsin years ago when commission employees had begun scouring the globe for examples of jurisdictions fostering investment growth.

After months of eyeing examples out of the United Kingdom and Australia, staff was continually pointed by experts to Wisconsin - a place where declining traditional sectors could not continue to be relied upon heavily to backstop the economy.

The story goes that staff in the departments of financial institutions and commerce began talking with lawyers working for small businesses, who identified a slew of barriers blocking startups from success.

Senator Ted Kanavas eventually drafted Act 255 in 2005, which offered generous tax credits to investors pumping money into "high-technology" companies in pre-commercialization mode.

In an interview, Kanavas said since the rules changed, about 100 firms have benefitted from the credits, spurring at least 1,000 new jobs.

"Our responsibility was to prove that we could make these companies flourish," Kanavas said.

Meanwhile the business community was lining up to take part and arms-length agencies were being formed to push Gov. Jim Doyle's "Grow Wisconsin" initiative beyond government.

Joe Kremer, who had worked at the legislature while Act 255 was being drafted, was later hired by a newly-formed Wisconsin Technology Council to link angel investors to early-stage startups.

Kremer, who has led the Wisconsin Angel Network since 2005, said that four-and-a-half years ago, the state had one angel network. "Now, we're up to 22."

The group's 2008 report shows the state posted a 28-per-cent increase in angel and fund investments last year - amounting to more than $15 million in 53 deals - even as angel investing was down by 26 per cent nationally.

Meanwhile, the university-led movement to commercialize research and development is encouraging startups to form.

Mike Helfman's Bubble Springs Solar got off the ground with the help of a business incubator run by the Stout Technology Transfer Institute on the University of Wisconsin's Stout campus.

The university provided the Menomonie, Wis. entrepreneur - whose company manufactures solar collectors - ample space at low cost under "favourable" conditions and offered research and development resources, Helfman said in an interview.

In exchange, Helfman provided job opportunities for graduating students.

"There's that interaction between the students, the staff and an operating business on the university," he said. "Three of my (newest) employees, two of them are ongoing students, one of them is a graduate."

Victor Boudreau, the new Business New Brunswick minister, said Monday he would be happy to sit down and look more closely at what Wisconsin has achieved.

Meanwhile, he rejects recent criticisms put forth that his government is focused more on attracting outside companies than on promoting the launch of startups at home.

"I know that sometimes it seems as though we're doing a lot to attract outside investment and jobs," he said. "But we also need to continue to work with our existing base of companies."

Boudreau said the NB Growth program, in its second year, has seen many successes at helping small- and medium-sized companies find financing.

"Access to capital is very often one of the main stumbling blocks of our small and medium-sized businesses."

More ideas will generate more capital

Jeff Roach — Wed, 27 May 2009 08:33:34 -0300

Author

John Pollack

Source

Telegraph-Journal, Published Wednesday May 27th, 2009

Source Url

http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/rss/article/679971

Image

Image Caption

Marcel LeBrun, chief executive of Radian6, a New Brunswick company that has become a global leader in social media monitoring, says attracting large companies to the province won’t likely create the human capital necessary for developing a cluster of new innovative businesses. LeBrun says the province just needs the people that are here to bring their innovative ideas to market. ‘I’m a believer that the more good ideas there are the more capital will come.’

Body

Technology Executive favours attracting entrepreneurs to province, not big companies

New Brunswick needs to stop promoting the province as a place to do business if it wants to encourage new innovative startups, a leading technology executive says.

"If they're setting up here because they can get access to low cost call centre workers than no, it's not going to do anything for the tech sector," LeBrun said of a large technology company hypothetically opening operations here. "If they move their research and development here that would be a different thing, but I don't think that's what's being sold to them at the moment."

He said idea generation is usually kept close to the leadership of a company that won't likely move its headquarters here.

LeBrun will be the keynote speaker at Propel ICT's annual general meeting today in Saint John. His speech to the technology association crowd will focus on how web 2.0, particularly social media, provides new opportunities for businesses and further breaks down geographic borders.

Though the Internet has connected people around the world for about 20 years, LeBrun said in an interview, he will argue in his speech that the more recent popularity of the social web makes virtual proximity more important than physical proximity thereby eliminating geography as a factor for many businesses.

LeBrun said attracting companies to New Brunswick may make sense on an economic development agenda, and acknowledged discouraging the job creation efforts is controversial, but he, like many others involved with Propel ICT, feel the province needs to have a strong focus on entrepreneurship.

LeBrun sees value in inspiring creative home-grown business ideas that can use new Internet tools to compete in a world-wide market.

"It's a global world and we need to build globally minded companies," he said. "When you're in a flat world where geography doesn't matter you can't take your geography and use it as a differentiator."

He wants to see New Brunswick develop a technology cluster that will breed creativity, such as in California's Silicon Valley. Similarly to the popularity of a sport, LeBrun said a successful regional industry will come from people seeing it done and wanting to give it a try.

"If you come to bat enough times you're eventually going to hit something," LeBrun said. "I think the number of times we swing our bat is the key metric we need to be focused on."

Though New Brunswick doesn't have the population or money that Silicon Valley does, he said the province just needs the people that are here to bring their innovative ideas to market.

"I'm a believer that the more good ideas there are the more capital will come," he said.

LeBrun argues consumers don't care where a product or service is from - if it is interesting and stands out enough to generate discussion online it will likely sell.

"If you're a little jewelry company in Fredericton and you've got a product that's remarkable, that people will talk about, there's no reason why you can't really figure out how to grow that business," he said.

Barrett Xplore receiving $10M for rural Internet project

Rowser — Tue, 26 May 2009 09:54:07 -0300

Author

Rebecca Penty

Source

Telegraph Journal, Published Tuesday May 26th, 2009

Source Url

http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/rss/article/678767

Image

Image Caption

Ed Barrett

Body

The provincial government will announce today a $10-million loan guarantee to help Barrett Xplore Inc. cover capital costs and construction expenses for a high-speed Internet project geared at the province's rural regions.

The Woodstock-based company is in the midst of fulfilling a government contract to provide broadband to the remaining 10 per cent of New Brunswick residents who do not currently have access, and is expected to finish work by July, 2010.

Premier Shawn Graham - while participating in an expansion announcement at Imperial Manufacturing Group's Richibucto facility Monday - said he would be in Fredericton this morning to talk about the government's hand in helping create 100 jobs for the infrastructure project.

The government anticipates another 100 indirect jobs are being created through new installers and dealers in communities across the province.

"Tomorrow we're going to be in Fredericton. There's going to be a job announcement for 200 new jobs across the province providing high-speed Internet access," Graham said, adding that in Kent County, work already started through Digi-Sol Technologies Inc. to fulfill the Barett Xplore contract has meant a number of new jobs to date.

Graham will be joined by Jack Keir, acting minister of business New Brunswick, and Fredericton-Silverwood MLA Rick Miles at the morning press conference today.

The Liberal government is spending $13 million to ensure the entire province has high-speed Internet access by mid-2010.

Graham announced in February the government would partner with Barrett Xplore to make New Brunswick the only jurisdiction in North America to offer 100-per-cent coverage.

The firm is expanding high-speed access using mostly wireless technology, while satellite service will be offered in the most remote areas.

Ed Barrett, chairman of Barrett Xplore, has pledged to provide rural New Brunswickers with a fair fee for their high-speed service.

He told the Telegraph-Journal last year that high-speed Internet has become an essential service.

"Broadband communication is, and is going to be more so, critical infrastructure throughout the country and throughout the world.

"It will not be acceptable in future years, and some would say it's not acceptable today, to not have access to broadband, regardless of where you live or where your business is," Barrett said.

Provincial regulator better than national one

Rowser — Tue, 05 May 2009 10:29:16 -0300

Author

Dave MacLean

Source

Telegraph-Journal, Published Tuesday May 5th, 2009

Source Url

http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/rss/article/656606

Image

Image Caption

Donne Smith

Body

Finance New Brunswick Securities Commission boss doubts national organization would be as effective

The head of the New Brunswick Securities Commission says the interests of the province's investors are better served by his body than they would be by a proposed national regulator.

Donne Smith, chairman and CEO of the provincial regulatory body, told the Telegraph-Journal's editorial board he doubts a national organization would be as effective in achieving the provincial commission's two main goals: to protect investors and to foster fair and efficient capital markets.

In January, federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said during his budget speech that Ottawa would introduce legislation this year that would lead to the creation of a single national securities regulator, replacing provincial bodies. Regulation is a provincial responsibility and the minister said participation would be voluntary.

Flaherty's announcement closely followed the release of a report by a panel headed by Tom Hockin - a former cabinet minister under Brian Mulroney. The report recommended the establishment of a national organization to oversee the financial markets.

Smith said the Hockin report is flawed.

"You don't have to look at it too closely to realize that they're proposing no office in Atlantic Canada," Smith said. "From our perspective, the issue is not so much the preservation of the New Brunswick Securities Commission, it's the preservation of the work that needs to be done and that we are doing in New Brunswick.

"We would ask - who's going to do that work? How is it going to get done when you have an office in Ottawa or Toronto? We're concentrating on investor protection. How does somebody in Caraquet contact somebody in Toronto and ask them to deal with and understand the issues that he or she is facing in rural New Brunswick."

Smith said many observers also view the move as a political power grab aimed at concentrating more power in central Canada.

"Ontario is the largest jurisdiction. Most of the registrants' head offices are in Toronto," he said. "The stock exchange is in Toronto. They wish to preserve that control, that presence. Managing money is a big business and it's centred in Toronto. However, a lot of the smaller issuers are not in Ontario. You have oil, gas and mining in British Columbia and in Alberta.

"Mr. Flaherty, the current minister of finance in Ottawa, was the minister of finance in Ontario and he's speaking to an Ontario constituency. That's one of the main reasons, in my view, why he continues to push (for a national body) - despite the fact that some of the significant provinces are opposed to it."

Governments in Alberta and Quebec were quick to voice their opposition to the proposal. The New Brunswick government did not completely rule out endorsing a national concept.

"(Justice and Consumer Affairs Minister T.J. Burke) said in January that the government is satisfied with the current system and it supports the securities commission," Smith said. "(Burke) said if there was a change, he wanted to make sure that there was a viable presence in New Brunswick."

Smith said it's important for regulators to have an ear close to the ground, something that would be difficult if there is no office in Atlantic Canada. He's also concerned one central body would focus too much on the big-ticket offences.

"I think it's fair to say that the type of securities fraud that we deal with, which is boiler rooms, unsuitable trading, inappropriate activities - those are lower on the interest scale of someone in Ontario who might be dealing with issues such as insider trading and corporate abuses.

"When you look at the purpose of a securities regulator, which essentially is to protect the investors, it's consumer regulation and traditionally those closest to the consumers do a better job than those who are far away."

Smith said history shows service to Atlantic Canadians generally suffers when Ottawa moves offices from the region.

"That's the weakness in the federal argument - that they can continue to do the job just as effectively from Toronto or Ottawa or Montreal," he said.

"Those of us in the Maritimes who have experienced federal involvement in consumer affairs over the decades would know that they get involved and then they gradually - sometimes quickly - retrench."

Innovation foundation has a new president

Rowser — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:24:59 -0300

Author

Matt McCann

Source

Telegraph-Journal, Published Monday April 27th, 2009

Source Url

http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/rss/article/648161

Image

Image Caption

Calvin Milbury, the recently appointed president and CEO of New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, looks through a pane of glass at his office in King Tower in Fredericton. Photo by James West/For the Telegraph-Journal

Body

Calvin Milbury also takes over CEO duties at NBIF

One of the major provincial innovation-financing organizations has a new leader, as Calvin Milbury steps into the role of president and CEO of the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation.

Milbury, who's been with the foundation since its inception in 2003, and served as the vice-president of business development since 2004, said having watched the organization grow is gratifying.

"Looking back over the past six years, it's been very rewarding for me to be involved with the foundation, and particularly involved in venture capital, which was my primary area of responsibility previously," he said. "We've gone through a series of evolutions. At first it was about setting up our organization and creating awareness. But over the years, through our investment activities, we've developed - I think - credibility in the marketplace. We've taken a more professional approach to how we invest and how we run the organization."

"Over the past five years, Calvin has built an impressive portfolio of venture capital investments that have an important impact on New Brunswick," foundation chair Al Lacey said. "Both his commitment and strategic know-how gives us great confidence about continuing the foundation's mandate to develop innovation well into the future."

A provincial native, Milbury worked for Montreal-based venture capital firm Foragen Technologies Management after graduating from the BSc and MBA programs at the University of New Brunswick.

"For me, having grown up in New Brunswick, and knowing the model the foundation was setting up, I thought it was intriguing to have a chance to work in the province and do venture capital," he said. "It's something that's fairly new here, and there are few opportunities to get engaged in that."

The core mandates of the organization are to develop innovation and entrepreneurship within the province, so focus is placed on New Brunswick's universities, colleges and research organizations - institutions doing applied research with the potential to be commercialized.

On the private sector side, the NBIF funds "high-growth" companies, helping them attract more investment to fund their growth plans.

Instead of loans or grants, the foundation provides venture capital, essentially becoming a partner with the company.

"In doing that, it gives us a chance to be involved in the company, to help work with the entrepreneurs and get the company to a point where it's self-sufficient or it can attract other venture capital," Milbury said. "Through this whole process, we really get to see the company from inception all the way out to when it grows and matures and becomes a viable business."

On top of that, Milbury said he's going to try and have the foundation work more closely with the provincial government to achieve some of its goals, such as long-term economic prosperity, and creating a "culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the province."

"One of the things that we want to ensure happens is that we work closely with the province of New Brunswick and our other stakeholders to ensure we're all meeting the common goals of building a better economic foundation," he said. "We believe innovation is a key part of that. It's through innovation that you can discover new opportunities, and those opportunities are needed in broader markets."

One way of doing this, which Milbury is directly involved in, is through the foundation's Breakthru business plan competition, wherein provincial entrepreneurs compete for venture capital funding.

He also helped organize the R3 Gala in October, which featured keynote speaker Richard Florida.

"It's what I'm passionate about," Milbury said of his work with the foundation.

"Trying to help do the technology transfer and create successful, profitable companies. This is all a high-risk game. We don't expect every single investment we make to move forward and be a success story. Our aim is to help them and put the infrastructure around them."

He takes over from previous president Barrie Black, who Milbury said left the foundation to pursue other opportunities.

A woman who answered the phone at Black's home said he was flying to England and wasn't available for comment.

Stimulus - Creating Cash Flow in a Recession

Jeff Roach — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:21:19 -0300

Author

Rizwan Kheraj

Source

Bootup Labs Blog

Source Url

http://blog.bootuplabs.com/2009/03/12/stimulus-creating-cash-flow-in-a-recession-by-riz/

Image

Image Caption

Rizwan Kheraj, Industrial Technology Advisor at NRC-IRAP, Vancouver

Body

The Government of Canada has increased their support of NRC's IRAP Program. For more information, view presentation slides below:

Riz's IRAP Slides

View more presentations from dannyrobinson.

Casting call for entrepreneurs

Rowser — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:18:43 -0300

Author

Source

Telegraph-Journal, The, Published Tuesday March 10th, 2009

Source Url

http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/rss/article/597994

Image

Image Caption

Body

CBC Television's Dragon's Den will begin national auditions for a new season this month. The show's casting crew touch down in Moncton on March 31 and Saint John on April 2. Dragon's Den gives budding entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their ideas to a panel of wealthy businesspeople, otherwise known as the Dragons, on national television. The prize is money and investment from the Dragons' pockets. Visit www.cbc.ca/dragonsden for tips on pitching a business.

Fighting for existence

lrousseau — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Author

Rebecca Penty

Source

Telegraph-Journal, Published Saturday February 14th, 2009

Source Url

http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/rss/article/572339

Image

Image Caption

GrowthWorks Atlantic announced a venture capital investment in the field of Virtual Expert Clinics on Tuesday at the Crowne Plaza. Shown here at the announcement are Cynthia Howroyd, left, president and CEO of Virtual Experts Clinics Inc., and Thomas Hayes, president and CEO of GrowthWorks Atlantic. Photo credit: David Smith

Body

Venture capital-backed companies are caught between a rock and a hard place

The economic downturn has created a drought in venture capital financing that has some companies across the country predicting bankruptcy by the end of this year.

In Atlantic Canada, where venture capital is already scarce, retail investors are holding on to their purse strings, which means companies will find it hard to get cash, said Thomas Hayes, the president and chief executive officer of GrowthWorks Atlantic Venture Fund Ltd., a venture capital firm that has $33 million in regional assets under its management.

"What we're finding, and this is our peak selling season, is the retail investor has taken hits in terms of their own portfolio values and they're becoming increasingly risk averse so that has been challenging for us as a retail venture capital company on the fundraising side," Hayes said.

Companies that rely on venture capital for revenue while growing could take longer to achieve profitability, Hayes said.

"The worst thing we can do is run out of capital and not be able to support them during these challenging times."

A recent survey of CEOs in the biotechnology sector shows that 50 per cent of emerging firms lack the cash needed to stay open past the end of 2009, while 25 per cent don't have enough money to make it past June.

Kasia Majewski, spokeswoman for BIOTECanada, the industry organization that commissioned the survey, said the recession has meant firms are looking for money that's not there.

"The vast majority of (financing) is through venture financing, and because the markets right now are closed ... most of them are contemplating significant reduction in their operations or closure," Majewski said.

Gregory Smith, the president and CEO of Canada's Venture Capital & Private Equity Association and president of Toronto-based Macquarie Capital Funds Canada Ltd., said today's economic crisis has meant companies cannot evolve to the next stage of growth - acquisition.

"So they're forced with, 'We can't raise more money to grow and we can't exit to a strategic buyer.' Some companies are going to be fighting for their existence in 2009," Smith said, speaking after a private equity association reception in Calgary where he met with industry leaders on the economy and the state of the venture capital sector.

Smith said the current recession is only the icing on the cake for his industry.

"There is this structural problem that exists with the fund flows with venture capital in Canada that existed prior to the economic crisis in Canada and the economic crisis is going to serve to further enhance this problem," he said, pointing to a January report from his association, sponsored in part by the Business Development Bank of Canada, Industry Canada and provincial government partners.

Venture capital investment in Canada plunged 35 per cent between 2003 and the third quarter of last year, while venture capital in the United States grew by 17 per cent, the report said.

Gilles Duruflé, the independent consultant and former senior partner in charge of venture capital investments for Quebec's provincial pension plan, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, said in part, the decline of venture capital investment in Canada is due to provincial governments withdrawing from tax credit programs targeted at individual investors who support labour sponsored venture capital corporations.

"The second dimension is cyclical. It is the impact of the present turmoil on the financial markets and the present recession," Duruflé said.

The report highlights the importance of venture capital-backed companies, which generate sales of $18.3 billion annually and export 70 per cent of their sales, four times the average export ratio of the Canadian private sector, according to Canada's Venture Capital & Private Equity Association.

Duruflé pointed further to the importance of supporting the venture capital industry.

"When you have successful tech entrepreneurs who sell their companies for large amounts of money, most of the time they reinvest part of that money in a new generation of companies," he said.

Bell Aliant to focus on expanding broadband business, reducing capital spending

Jeff Roach — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:20:13 -0400

Author

Michael Macdonald, The Canadian Press

Source

Canadian Businesss Online, February 3, 2009 - 3:23 p.m.

Source Url

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hVW3jbToCZGZ4h3fldOyY5liQ5Qg

Image

Image Caption

Karen Sheriff, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bell Aliant

Body

HALIFAX, N.S. - The CEO of Bell Aliant Regional Communications Income Fund (TSX:BA.UN) says the fund's operating company will focus its attention on retaining customers and growing its broadband business in 2009 as it moves forward with a "leaner" and "faster" management structure.

Karen Sheriff, who took over as president and CEO in October, says she knows there are concerns about the company's decision to reduce overall capital spending, but she stressed Tuesday that investment in broadband services will increase by 20 per cent over last year.

"In 2009, we will work to strengthen the value ... of our high-speed services, work with our customers to remove barriers to them getting online and introduce more, value-added IT-based services," Sheriff told a conference call with industry analysts.

Halifax-based Bell Aliant operates phone and Internet services throughout parts of Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. It has 10,000 employees.

During the conference call, several analysts had pointed questions about the company's decision to reduce capital spending to between 13.5 per cent and 14.5 per cent of revenue. The figure was 16.1 per cent in fiscal 2008.

One analyst suggested Bell Aliant could be hurting its competitiveness as cable TV companies continue to expand their reach into the traditional telephone market.

The company's own figures show that in 2009, more than 65 per cent of households in Bell Aliant's territory will have the option of buying telephone services from a cable TV operator.

Sheriff said the target for reduced capital spending was more in line with industry benchmarks and she stressed that the company had invested heavily in projects involving interconnection with the Bell Mobility cellular network in 2008.

"We will continue to pursue productivity enhancements going forward, but with much lower reliance on big IT spends," Sheriff said.

As well, the CEO said the company does not plan to make any acquisitions in 2009.

The company reported Monday that earnings fell sharply because of a $60-million restructuring charge associated with a decision early this month to cut 500 management jobs.

"We will be organized more by function, than by geography," Sheriff said, noting that her predecessor, Stephen Wetmore, had determined the company was "too heavy" before he left in November to become president and CEO of Canadian Tire.

Sheriff said the cuts had to be made because there was too much duplication between managers in Atlantic Canada and Central Canada.

"Throughout my career ... I've discovered that leaner makes you move faster and operate better," she said. "Rather than torture an organization with multiple changes ... it's just better to get to where you think you need to go."

The job cuts, which represent about 15 per cent of the telecom operator's management positions, have been difficult for the company, she said.

"This is not an easy time for them. But they are working through it and continuing to provide great service to our customers."

Sheriff said it would be difficult to predict what would happen with Bell Aliant's non-management workers in the next two or three years, but she did confirm that the workforce dedicated to the traditional, wired telephone business would eventually shrink.

"That's really not my focus this quarter," she said.

Sheriff said she expects distributable cash to increase up to 10 per cent for 2009 to between $750 million and $790 million - a forecast that was above industry expectations.

The distribution to unitholders per unit should remain unchanged at 24.17 cents per month or $2.90 per year in 2009.

For the three months ended Dec. 31, Bell Aliant Holdings LP, the fund's operating company, earned $80 million on $813.2 million in revenue compared with a profit of $117.4 million on $819.1 million in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2007.

The fund, which is 44 per cent owned by the BCE group, expects operating revenue to remain stable at between $3.18 billion and $3.28 billion in 2009 - that's a range just below the level reached last year.

Growth in Internet and wireless revenue will be largely offset by declines from outsourcing and the traditional local and long distance telephone services, the company said.

On Jan. 20, BCE said it would cut operating costs by offering a retirement incentive to about 1,500 qualifying, unionized employees. The offer applies only to employees who meet certain criteria and are already eligible to retire this year and in 2010.

That move came after the failure in December of BCE's proposed $52-billion takeover by an investment group led by the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan board.

Eight projects receive $17.5M from Atlantic Innovation Fund

Jeff Roach — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 08:03:49 -0400

Author

Brett Bundale

Source

Telegraph-Journal, Published Tuesday January 20th, 2009

Source Url

http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/rss/article/545276

Image

Image Caption

Minister Keith Ashfield, left, and Radian6 CEO Marcel Lebrun, at the Atlantic Innovation Foundation announcement in Fredericton Monday.

Body

FREDERICTON - A week before a new Conservative budget is to be unveiled in Ottawa, an infusion of federal money for research and development in the province is being peddled as both a long-term stimulus measure and a catalyst for quick economic growth in tough economic times.

Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Keith Ashfield was in town Monday to announce $17.5 million for eight New Brunswick projects under the federal government agency's flagship Atlantic Innovation Fund.

The money is part of a $51.8 million pot earmarked for investments in innovation across Atlantic Canada in 2009. This is the sixth round of funding since the program was launched in 2001, bringing the total price tag for taxpayers to nearly $575 million.

For each public dollar spent, projects are expected to leverage about $1.25 more from other private and public sector sources, bringing the total value of investment in New Brunswick to nearly $35 million, according to the agency.

"Atlantic Canada's prosperity depends not just on meeting the challenges of today but on building the innovative, knowledge-based economy that will create opportunities and jobs in the future," Ashfield said during the press conference at the University of New Brunswick's Wu Conference Centre.

"The fund," he added, "has proven to be a powerful driver of innovation and competitiveness by helping Atlantic Canada's innovators, researchers and entrepreneurs grow their ideas into leading-edge products and technologies."

The areas that received funding include universities, businesses and research institutions in New Brunswick.

Some of the projects include the recycling of organic residues and compost into fertilizer, the development of a commercial energy recovery ventilation system to reduce the energy consumption of industry and a biotechnology project to help the pulp and paper industry.

Radian6 Technology Inc. will receive about $3 million from the fund over a four-year period. The company will use the financial backing to create an online marketing dashboard that monitors blog posts, online videos, photo sharing and social media websites for public relations firms and companies can keep their finger of the pulse of public opinion.

"Websites like Twitter, YouTube, Myspace and Facebook are popping up every day," said Marcel LeBrun, the chief executive officer of the tech firm. "We catch what people are saying and filter the information so companies know what's being said about their brand," he said in an interview after the press conference.

The money will expand their workforce of 45 to over 60 in 2009 alone, LeBrun said, helping them meet growing demand.

"We have over 300 clients now with names like Dell Computers, Home Depot and Moosehead Breweries," LeBrun added. "Over the last five quarters we've grown 100 per cent each quarter - basically doubling our business every quarter."

While only seven projects were unveiled Monday, Ashfield will travel to the Shippagan Campus of the Université de Moncton today to announce the eighth project in New Brunswick that will receive funding through the government agency.