Finance Minister Michael de Jong will travel to U.S. and Canadian financial centres starting Monday, March 31, 2014, to brief bank officials and investors on British Columbia’s balanced budget, triple-A credit rating, economic outlook and investment opportunities, including B.C.’s developing LNG sector.

The Minister of Finance has made annual trips to New York and Toronto to provide the investment community with regular updates and highlight the stable investment represented by B.C. bonds.

While in New York, de Jong will address the CIBC central bank and sovereign wealth fund luncheon and the Canadian Association of New York luncheon. In Boston, Toronto and Winnipeg, de Jong will meet with individual investment dealers and financial institutions and present at investor luncheons.

The Government of British Columbia puts a high value on marketing the Province and communicating its credit story to capital markets. A strong demand for B.C. bonds helps keep the Province’s cost of borrowing down.

De Jong will profile recent advances in the B.C. LNG sector and discuss how B.C.’s proposed LNG tax will strike the right balance between the need to maximize the return to British Columbians while keeping the province an attractive and competitive place to develop LNG.

The minister’s investor relations tour itinerary is as follows:

• March 31/April 1, 2014 - New York
• April 2, 2014 - Boston
• April 3, 2014 - Toronto
• April 4, 2014 - Winnipeg

The estimated travel and accommodation cost for the minister and his chief of staff is approximately $8,800. Detailed information on final amounts will be made available.

Media Contacts:

Jamie Edwardson
Communications Director
Ministry of Finance
250 888-0021