BRIC + US Institute of Directors Conference – October 20, 2009

Last week I chaired the afternoon session of the BRIC + US conference held at the Institute of Directors in London (Hot Spots in a Cold World).

During the day, each of Brazil, Russia, India, China and US were given the opportunity to present why their countries represented significant market opportunities for companies looking to set up in their respective countries. And each of the speakers gave a fantastic picture demonstrating in clear terms why companies of all sizes should consider expansion into these countries. It never ceases to amaze me how little knowledge there is in OECD countries about the high growth emerging economies in particular so let me gave you a few of the numbers that were mentioned:

• In China, there are 274 cities with populations of greater than 1 million people and over the next 20 years, some 350 million additional people will relocate from the countryside to cities
• Russia aims to become a top 5 global economy by 2020 – just 11 years from now
• India is committed to sustainable growth of at least 6-7% per annum leading to it becoming a top 3 nation by 2050
• 47% of Brazil’s energy already comes from renewable sources making it a global leader in the field
• The population of the US will reach 400m by 2040 making it the 3rd most populous country on Earth after China and India

The message from the conference was clear, you cannot simply think in domestic terms, if you really want your business to succeed, you need to take an international perspective.

Well done America!!

Most of the readers of this blog know I live in the UK, so this is a perspective that I share as a UK citizen who watched Obama’s winning speech in awe.  I had goosebumps and even probably a tear in my eye when I watched the victory speech in Chicago.  I went to bed hoping for an Obama win without really knowing why, but I would not believe it would actually happen until I actually saw it formally declared (we all remember Bush vs Gore).  I’ve been wanting to write about the win on this blog since yesterday but could not find a way to express my thoughts until today.

Today two of my colleagues met a prospective client in London for lunch.  The client is originally from the US and so has an American accent.  On arriving at the restaurant, the front of house guy came up and shook the prospective clients hand and said “Well Done!”.  Kyle (the prospective client) asked him why, what had he done?  The guy said “Well done, you chose Obama!”.  At the end of the meal, they had dessert and Kyle’s was brought out with the chocolate sauce spelling out USA  Obama!

America, congratulations! Your new President has not even been sworn in yet but massive changes have already happened.  You should be excited for the future, the rest of the world certainly is!  You will get through the current financial situation and prosper and with this President, the rest of the world will enjoy your company once again.  We will once again look to your great nation for inspiration and hope for you have shown the rest of the world that you do understand, and we all look forward to visiting your country and working with you!

USA Obama