A new survey suggests Canadian corporate executives aren't heeding the call to venture to the Far East to gain a foothold in the global economy of the future. The survey of 163 financial executives in both public and private firms found one third are not looking to expand beyond Canada. Of those that do, only 17 per cent have set their sights on the emerging economic powers in China and elsewhere in the region. Meanwhile, of those firms that are looking to expand, about one third said their target country is the U.S. That's not surprising, but it goes against the increasingly persistent calls from Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney and federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty that Canadian business abandon its traditional comfort zones and branch out to parts of the world with the fastest growing economies. The survey of 163 financial executives, more than half from companies with more than $50 million in revenues, was conducted by the Canadian Financial Executives Research Foundation with Grant Thornton accounting.
