Data sources of the EuroGroups Register

Presentation by EurostatZsolt.Volfinger@ec.europa.eu

Scope of the presentation

Scope of the presentation:– What is the EuroGroups Register (EGR)?– Data acquisition.– The commercial data sources of the EGR.– The composition of the starting population.– The characteristics and the completeness of the initial

datasets.– The results of data exchange with EU and EFTA Member

States.

The EuroGroups Register

The EuroGroups Register is the statistical register of the European Communities on multinational enterprise groups (MNEs).

The aim of the register is to cover the units of the most influential MNEs operating in the EU and EFTA countries to create a harmonised frame for European statistics on multinationals.

The EuroGroups Register

The EGR is based on data of two commercial data sources. The information of these sources is combined within the EGR. The national statistical institutes (NSIs) of the EU and EFTA

countries are involved in the EGR production process. Feedback from the actions of the NSIs:– The NSIs link the records of the commercial data sources

to their national business registers.– The NSIs check and correct the characteristics and the

relationships of the units at record level. The final MNE structures will be defined based on the parent-

subsidiary relationships by the EGR system. EGR will disseminate the data of MNEs to Member States.

Data acquisition

In 2008 Eurostat announced a tender for private data providers to supply data on multinational groups for statistical purposes to the EuroGroups Register. The tender was split to two lots. One lot requested data on control relationships, the other one data on ownership relationships.

The tender specification required data of 5000 MNEs with the characteristics of all involved subsidiaries and the relations between them.

For the dataset on control relationships the winner of the tender was company Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), for the dataset on ownership relationships company Bureau van Dijk (BvD).

Both of these private data providers do have a worldwide commercial database on multinational groups.

Selection procedure for groups

Starting population: 5000 MNEs and their legal units. Coverage: to cover the most influential MNEs active in

Europe, those which are the most relevant from the perspectives of FATS statistics, FDI statistics and employment.

Every EU and EFTA country are represented in the 5000 population.

Selection procedure for groups

Country lists were requested from EU and EFTA Member States on influential MNEs which are resident in their country.

The number of requested MNEs by countries was predefined by Eurostat.

Member States provided 3000 supposed MNEs for Eurotsat. D&B could match 2410 groups to its database; BvD could

match 2729 groups. These matching units composed the first half of the starting population.

Next step: country specific selection from the private providers for the second half of the starting population.

Additional non country related MNEs from the data providers to top up the 5000 starting population.

Data deliveries

Data delivery from private sources in January 2009. Time stamp of the datasets: end 2008. D&B: 5000 MNEs and their units in 330 296 records. BvD: 5452 MNEs with 505 560 records and a separate file on

ownership relations between the records. Data delivery in text files. The final delivery files included information on the

characteristics of the legal units of the MNEs and on their relationships. Both sources provided more than 50 variables for the records.

D&B dataset

The national ID numbers are very important for the linking process.

The data file had a good coverage on identification numbers 80% of the records did have national ID number and only 1.8% was missing for European records.

Variables Filled records %

DUNS number 330 296 100%

National ID number 265 704 80%

D&B dataset

Every record had a company name. The country and country code were filled by every record. 5300 records did not have address line, 3000 did not have

city name. 91% of the records did have D&B legal form.

Variables Filled records %

Company name 330 296 100%

Country code 330 296 100%

Address 324 975 98%

Legal form 300 440 91%

D&B dataset

At least one NACE Rev 1.1 code was available by 91% of the records. We faced a quite high number of invalid NACE codes, 22% of the delivered codes were not valid according to the NACE Rev 1.1 classification.

D&B delivered an estimated variable for employment for every record. Turnover and net worth estimations were also available for every record.

Variables Filled records

%

NACE Rev 1.1. activity code 308 061 100%

D&B estimated employment 330 296 100%

D&B data on relationships and summary

The D&B database is based on control relationships without % data.

Natural person are not included in the group structures, only legal units are covered.

Every record had an immediate parent link with DUNS number. The domestic and global ultimate units were defined by every record.

The relationship data between the records were very clear and consistent; this was a strong side of the D&B dataset.

Good coverage on ID numbers, names and addresses, on legal forms, on employment, turnover and net worth figures and on links between records.

The coverage for Greece is poor; D&B could provide data only for 2 influential Greek groups.

BvD data file on legal units

73% of the total population did have national ID number in the BvD database.

12% of the records did have a "DNB company number", which is the DUNS number of the records from Dun & Bradstreet. These numbers gave additional possibilities to link the data of the two sources.

Variables Filled records %

BvD number 505 560 100%

National ID number 368 343 73%

BvD data file on legal units

Every record had a company name. 2% of the records did not have country code; this is a relatively

high number. The EGR can not use records without country code; these records are excluded from the MNE structures.

The street address was available by 69% of the records, 75% did have a city name.

Variables Filled records %

Company name 505 560 100%

Country code 495 635 98%

Address 351 282 69%

BvD data file on legal units

62% of the records did have legal form. These records were described by 256 different legal forms.

62% of the records did have NACE Rev 1.1 code. 3% of the codes were invalid according to NACE Rev.1.1 classification.

For 39% of the records employment figure was available.

Variables Filled records

%

Legal form 312 864 62%

NACE Rev 1.1. activity code 312 120 62%

Employment 198 970 39%

BvD data file on relationships

The relationships between legal units were delivered in a separate file.

Contrary to the D&B dataset minority ownership relations as above 10% are included as well.

Private persons are covered as group heads. The relationships are described by direct or by indirect percentage

values. BvD provided % value for every relation. 85% of the relations are direct.

If the direct percentage was empty an indirect (total) percentage was always available. Time stamp and source description was available for every record.

In some cases the file on linkages from BvD included controversial information. It happened that for the same legal unit two different parent companies were recorded, both with 100% ownership.

Summary on the BvD dataset

The BvD database includes % values for all relationships. Majority relationships and minority ownership relations as

above 10% are included as well. Outside the legal units natural persons are covered as well. The identification of natural persons is difficult; it happened

that they do not have country codes, the have only a name and a BvD number.

The BvD dataset had a good coverage on names and addresses and on links between records.

The availability of the national IDs and of the activity classification was limited (73% and 62%).

2% of the records did not have country code.

Summary on the BvD dataset

Data from BvD usually includes more records for the same group than D&B data.

The BvD data set includes a larger proportion of local units and ceased units.

It seemed that BvD tried to collect every piece of information, e.g. from administrative registers, annual accounts, etc, and in some cases they stored different information on the same relationship.

The data were not every time consistent, but these were very few exceptional cases.

1st data exchange with Member States

In January 2009 the legal units of the two sources were linked at record level by automatic processes of the EGR.

In February 2009 Eurostat completed the first data exchange with the Member States; the NSIs received all linked legal units resident in their territory.

The NSIs examined the data sets; they linked the records of the data providers to their national statistical business registers, they provided them proper national identification numbers.

The results of the first data exchange gave information on the quality of the national ID numbers in the source data sets.

From the 31 EU and EFTA Member States 29 countries cooperated in this action.

1st data exchange with Member States

From the D&B data 235 757 European records were sent to EU and EFTA countries to link to the national business registers.

4400 records did not have national IDs (1.8%). The quality of the national ID numbers was good, the NSIs could link

91.2% of the D&B records successfully to their national registers. They accepted further 5%, these records are national records, but

because of register thresholds they are not included in the statistical business register.

1.3% of the ID numbers had to be changed, 1.5% was added. Only 1% of the provided records remained unknown. 99% of the D&B records are real entities; they are stored in the

national business registers.

1st data exchange with Member States

From the BvD data 344 821 records were sent to Member States to link to the national business registers.

42 000 records did not have national IDs (12.2%). The countries could link 80.9% of the BvD records successfully to their national registers.

They accepted further 3.7%, these records are national records, but because of thresholds they are not included in the statistical business register.

2.5% of the ID numbers had to be changed, 7.6% was added. 5.3% of the provided records remained unknown.

2nd data exchange with Member States

Based on the linked national ID numbers the EGR created legal units linking the BvD and DnB records.

In case of conflicting information the system gives priority for DnB.

The characteristics of these records and the relationships between the units are checked and corrected by EU and EFTA Member States as well.

This was the task of the second data exchange in the period July-August 2009.

Up to the end of September Eurostat has received 21 datasets from the Member States.

2nd data exchange with Member States

Feedback from Member States on status of the legal units Status of legal units in the answers:

– Active 86.7%– Liquidated 7.6%– Inactive 1.8%– Unknown 3.9%

2nd data exchange with Member States

Feedback from Member States on status of relationships between legal units

Status of relationships in the answers:– Active 65.6%– Ceased 9.2%– Wrong, never existed 6.8%– Unknown, not confirmed 18.4%