Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
The Company is exposed to various risks including credit risk, liquidity risk, currency risk and interest rate risk as described below:
Credit risk is the risk that a counter party will fail to meet its obligations to the Company. The Company’s primary exposure to credit risk is through its cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and marketable debt securities balances. The Company diversifies its cash holdings into major Canadian and U.S. financial institutions and corporations.
Liquidity risk is the risk that an entity will encounter difficulty in meeting its obligations associated with its financial liabilities. The Company manages this risk by maintaining adequate cash balances through equity and debt offerings to meet its current and foreseeable obligations.
The Company is subject to currency risk mainly due to its operations in Venezuela. Transactions denominated in foreign currency are exposed to exchange rate fluctuations which have an impact on the statement of operations. The Company’s cash, value added tax and other monetary assets and liabilities that are held in Venezuelan and Canadian currency are subject to fluctuations against the US dollar. The Company limits the amount of currency held in non-U.S dollar accounts, but does not actively use derivative instruments to limit its exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency rates.
The Company is subject to the risk that changes in market interest rates will cause fluctuations in the fair values of its financial instruments. Cash and cash equivalents earn floating market rates of interest. Other current financial assets and liabilities are generally not exposed to this risk because of their immediate or short-term maturity. The interest rate on the Company’s convertible notes is fixed and therefore the interest payments are not subject to changes in market rates of interest.
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