One of the keynote speakers, Dr. Angela Merkel, spoke to the attendees at Davos with a message sprinkled with stark realism regarding the difficult challenges facing Europeans yet encouraging them to reach for “new methods” to build for a more prosperous future. She asked Europe to learn lessons from the current crisis and help define what their role will be in shaping the future of the world. While Europe currently comprises about 7 percent of the world’s population and 20 percent of the GDP, it is probably perceived as the ” big economic headache” for the world economy right now, she lamented to the crowd.… Read more »
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Patiently Watching India’s Rise
I started off the morning at a breakfast forum titled “Are You Ready for Asia,” and the discussion was promising and highly optimistic about global business opportunities in the region. India is still growing at a 7.50-percent rate (with some individual states at 10 percent) and China is cooling off at 8 percent. One panelist pledged that India will spend $1 trillion on infrastructure in the next 6-8 years.
When the issue of the mulitbrand retail rollout and abrupt pull-back was raised to a prominent Indian business leader, he confidently predicted that this proposal (allowing retail companies like WalMart to enter into the market) would be re-visited and subsequently passed in six months. While this would be great news, it underscores the lessons of practicing patience, doing your political due diligence, and realizing the volatility in the environment for these major transactions.… Read more »
Categories Foreign Policy Trade | Tagged China, economic growth, India, political due diligence | Leave a comment