13th Annual Conference: Maximize Shareholder Value through Effective Tax Planning 2012

Synopsis

There is no doubt that emerging Asian markets have become critical shapers of the global economy. Growth in these economies is outstripping that of developed nations. Long-term trends suggest that China’s economy could surpass that of the US by 2025, and China’s growth rate could be overtaken by India’s by 2015. In the shorter term, GDP growth continues to run above 8% in emerging Asian markets, mainly due to expansion in China and India. The two Asian giants, through strengthening their intra-regional trade links are in turn fuelling growth in Indonesia, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

The result has been a continuous blurring of the distinction between ‘developed’ and ‘emerging’ economies, indicating a convergence between the two once-clear categories. Decades ago, developed economies were primarily those in Western Europe, North America, Japan and Australia. Over time, more complex global linkages between labour, capital and trade have shifted the traditional boundaries. Traditionally, capital flowed from developed countries to developing countries, but since the end of the 20th century, emerging markets as a whole have begun to run a current account surplus and have exported capital to the rest of the world.

Anticipating a billion new developing-nation consumers over the next decade, multinational corporations expect that more than half of their growth will eventually come from emerging Asian markets. Yet developing markets are not a monolithic bloc; the structures of their economies, their access to capital and their consumption patterns are quite distinct from one another. So too are the patterns of competition among incumbent firms.

Given what we are observing about convergence and what we are hearing about how successful emerging-market companies position themselves, corporate leaders should be curious about their own strategies and how to overcome the limitations and challenges they face in order to establish a differentiated position. With this in mind, our MSV conference this year will focus on  the factors that make emerging-market companies distinct from those based in the developed world, so as to gain insights into the opportunities and challenges that companies in emerging Asian markets face on their road to success in a connected world.

We trust that you will find these sessions useful, and look forward to seeing you at the conference.