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Newfoundland
The capital is Saint Jean. The main industry is
fishing, but its mining industries (iron, zinc,
asbestos, etc...) and the developement of its
natural resources explain its economic
expansion.
The total surface of this state is 405,720 km2
with a population of 600,000.
Over the last years, protecting the most important
resources of Newfoundland, like cod, has created
difficulties. In order to do it more efficiently,
the government decided in 1977 to extend its
fishing jurisdiction to 200 miles all along the
coast.
The results were very satisfactory until 1980, in
1989 scientific research showed that the underwater
fish reserves in the Atlantic had diminished too
much. Fishing quotas which had been fixed were
reduced.
Mining is an important economic resource for the
province. There are different minerals concerned,
gold, asbestos, limestone, gypsum and Labrador iron
which has a high export value.
The industrial sector is influenced by a policy to
automate and to up-date its equipment. The
principal activity in this sector is paper pulp.
Exports of newsprint paper has gone up, +4.7% which
represents 736,600 tons.
North America and Europe are the main purchasers,
but central and southern America and Asia are
starting to appear on the market.
The subsoil in Newfoundland is quite rich, since
the oilfield of Hibernia in 1979, new oil and gas
fields have been discovered.
5000 jobs have been created owing to the Hibernia
oilfield, it is going to enter a new productivity
period and that together with the new exploitations
should create more jobs. Sales have gone up in
number and value by 20%.
Other sectors are very important for Newfoundland :
the environment and the information sectors employ
3000 people. The profits come to about 330 million
dollars each year. The number of companies involved
in the information sector grew from 22 to 60
companies from 1989 to 1994.
There is a small sector of medicine and
biotechnology with only 10 companies established
for the moment. They are involved in university
research.
The difficulties surrounding marine protection have
helped aquaculture to expand its income, especially
concerning blue mussels, cod, giant scallops, etc
... Today there are 64 companies in this
sector.
The role of the defence and the aerospace sectors
is to detect any danger coming from the sky,
but also to develope the modelization of accoustics
in microgravity.
Agriculture is a prosperous sector which rose by
1.1% compared to 1994. Agricultural enterprises
deal with livestock, vegetables, fruits and other
mixed agricultural products and number 725.
The economically active population is made up of
244,600 people and the unemployment rate is
20.4%.
External trade is prosperous, 1.5 billion
$Can.earned on exports (of which 14 million is for
France)
and 440 million $Can.spent on imports (of which 3.6
million is from France).
A programme which is in place proposes a certain
number of measures concerning national or
international companies established in
Newfoundland, it is called the "Economic
Diversification and Growth
of Enterprises". It allows a temporary exemption
which could cover up to 10 years of the company's
income,
on social charges and education.
To give a push to employment the state reimburses
the sum of
2,000 dollars for every new job created over the
last 5 years of a company's activity, gives the
possibility of acquiring a non-equipped piece of
land at a low price,and the possibility to call on
an intermediary for any negociation envisaged with
the government.
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