I recently visited Zimbabwe, and essentially concluded that the economy is recovering. Traffic in Harare is noticeably busier, even when compared to my last visit in October 2010. Consumers are buying from supermarkets, the shelves of which are stocked with (mainly imported) goods which had been conspicuous by their absence for much of the last… [Read more]
Business Monitor Online recently published a report on Frontier Markets, which is also appearing in this week’s Emerging Markets Monitor magazine. The definition of ‘frontier markets’ varies greatly. For example, BMI’s definition (which would include Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Uzbekistan) is considerably more ‘exotic’ than most investors’ definition (which might include Peru, Nigeria, and Vietnam). Nonetheless,… [Read more]
Qatar’s successful bid to host the 2022 World Cup is a positive development, which will increase the country’s international exposure, provide a significant boost to the development of the non-hydrocarbon sector of the economy, and also help improve investor risk perceptions of the country. Moreover, this is also an additional step towards fulfilling the country’s… [Read more]
BMI’s Africa team is highly optimistic about the Zambian economy, and we believe that GDP growth is likely to exceed 7% in 2011. In a recently published article on Business Monitor Online, we specify three key drivers for growth in the near future: · A good and improving business environment. Zambia is a top-ten reformer… [Read more]
One of my core Latin American views for some time now has been that political risk will be a key determinant of which countries out- and underperform over the medium term. In this respect, the landslide victory for Juan Manuel Santos in the second round of Colombia’s presidential election on Sunday represents a strong positive… [Read more]
There is no question that China’s economy is booming, with growth spiking to 11.9% in the first quarter. The world’s largest country (by population) appears to have swept off the global recession with aplomb and many an analyst are counting on Chinese demand to drive a new global growth cycle. But is this growth sustainable… [Read more]
The shift in economic power from west to east and from north to south is ongoing. The importance that Africa will play in this given its natural endowments and growing domestic consumer markets means that the need for a regional financial and services centre has arisen. Risk Watchdog attended a conference in March, where among… [Read more]
