74 BCBusiness July 2014
goods, including the electronics at the
heart of such Top 100 companies as
Telus, Best Buy Canada Ltd. and Glen-
tel Inc.
But while resource companies still
hold prominent positions among the
Top 100, many saw significant drops
in revenue last year. The top drops
in revenues were recorded by Gold-
corp, Fortress Paper Ltd. and Silver
Wheaton Corp. Lower revenues for
these companies meant less demand
for office space in Vancouver, which
prompted Maury Dubuque, senior
vice-president of office leasing for Col-
liers International in Vancouver, to
express the concern of many when he
commented at a conference last fall,
"Seriously, are there really any growth
industries in British Columbia?"
On the positive side, the global
recovery that solidified in 2013 prom-
ises to buoy the province's fortunes in
2014. A glance at the unemployment
numbers shows this is already hap-
pening: while provincial unemploy-
ment ended the year at 6.6 per cent,
up from 6.5 per cent in January 2013,
it has since inched down to 6.2 per
cent—5.9 per cent in Vancouver.
Bryan Yu, regional economist for
Central 1 Credit Union, doesn't see
significant growth taking place until
2015, but says B.C. exports will sup-
port modest increases in employment
and job creation until more aggressive
growth kicks in with the launch of
LNG projects in the north. The activity
should translate into jobs in Vancou-
ver, where builders such as Polygon
Homes Ltd. and brokers of office and
A glance at the major
shareholders in the
Top 100 companies
indicates that invest-
ment has started to
take a more subtle
form, with Asian inves-
tors acquiring stakes
in strategic sectors
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