30 Sep The countries where internationalisation is worthwhile
Within geographical macro regions, we can identify countries that effectively offer greater business opportunities for Italian companies. Each area is characterised by specific territorial and political and economic features, which lead to different potentials for development:
BRICS
Brazil
Russia
India
China
South Africa
The BRICS countries are no longer considered emerging countries, since they now have mature markets. Through a form of banking consolidation, implemented in July 2014 in Brazil, the BRICS countries have become the privileged antagonists of the EU-USA regions. These markets are characterised by substantial financial resources, inclination to spend and interest in making investments.
MENA (Middle East North Africa)
United Arab Emirates (also thanks to Expo 2020 won by Dubai)
Saudi Arabia
Qatar (where the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be held)
Iran
Algeria
Morocco
By exploiting oil and natural gas resources, the MENA countries have now taken on the role of “luxury” players (UAE, Qatar) and are now capable of attracting events such as the Expo 2020 (Dubai) and the 2022 FIFA World Cup (Qatar), where European expertise will surely prove to be useful.
Saudi Arabia appears to be a business area with a very high potential, yet still poorly considered within the internationalisation processes of Italian companies, despite being very interesting in terms of trade opportunities for all European manufacturers. A successful move in this market is to identify a top-level local partner in order to develop business relations in relative safety.
Iran is an extremely interesting territory, yet it is relatively unknown. The expected imminent suspension of the embargo, which has affected this country for many years, makes it an ideal candidate as the new target market in the Persian Gulf for both the economy and trade.
The countries in the North African region (Morocco – Algeria) are suitable for offshoring production activities since they are growing rapidly thanks to incentive policies for free-trade areas and industrial sites.
ASEAN
Singapore
Indonesia
Malaysia
Korea
Taiwan
Thailand
Vietnam
Laos
Cambodia
In South-East Asia, in addition to the already mature markets of Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea, Taiwan and Singapore (which is viewed as the best marketplace for “Doing Business” in the World Bank ranking), other countries are emerging such as Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, especially in view of offshoring business activities or, at least, production, thanks to their low labour costs. A figure to take into account is the strong growth rate – 6.4% – of the ASEAN region.
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Democratic Republic of Congo
Mozambique
Angola
South Sudan
Sub-Saharan Africa is the second largest trade area in the world in terms of growth: in 2013, its GDP grew by 5.5%. Its wealth is primarily due to the mineral resources and hydrocarbons found in its subsoil.
Its lack of infrastructure makes this territory attractive for implementing different types of activities, especially for the building industry and major civil engineering works.
Several prominent economists believe that the luxury segment is also of great interest to Sub-Saharan Africa.
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