3M Eyes Big Growth In Emerging Markets

Improved penetration in the consumer and healthcare sectors of the developing world, including Asia-Pacific and Latin America, can add significant growth to sales and profits of 3M over the coming years.

http://tinyurl.com/n29elj8

The Next Billion Customers: Emerging Markets

Apple, Google and Facebook are arguably the defining technology brands of the current generation, and are each vying to define the next. All three have enjoyed scarcely believable success and growth over the past fifteen years -- driven first by the dot-com boom and more importantly by the cell phone and smartphone revolution, and everything that has come with it in terms of content and applications.

http://tinyurl.com/p3mzea4

Acura Targeting Emerging Markets Across the Globe

Never straying far away from North America, Honda is looking to expand Acura globally. Aside from Canada and the U.S., Acura is currently peddled only in Mexico and China. However, according to Automotive News, Honda is aiming to expand its luxury brand to Russia and the Ukraine next year, and Brazil and the Middle East by 2015.

http://tinyurl.com/qczewec

Google Pursuing Broad Wireless Project for Emerging Markets

Google has reportedly launched an expansive effort to bring wireless networks and affordable computing to emerging markets such as sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, moves that could bring the Internet to a further billion people.

http://tinyurl.com/q4mkx5j

Abu Dhabi Fund ADIA Turning to Emerging Markets

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is reducing target exposures to developed market stocks and looking for growth in emerging markets, the sovereign wealth fund that is one of the world's biggest investors said on Monday.

http://tinyurl.com/ndbmgnk

Emerging Markets Better Rated During Difficult Times

Publics around the world are decidedly unhappy about their nations’ economies. Most are displeased with current economic conditions and concerned about rising economic inequality; few are optimistic about the coming year. However, at the same time, most global publics say their personal finances are in better shape than their national economies, according to a new 39-nation survey.

http://tinyurl.com/pxvp5dt

EBay Focuses on $195B Global Emerging Markets

EBay, owner of the biggest Internet marketplace, is boosting staff in its emerging-markets group by 50 percent this year, seeking to win loyalty in burgeoning regions where online sales may top $195 billion.

http://tinyurl.com/p8kj3nu

Emerging Markets Targeted for Exports

At the ministry's meeting yesterday with 65 Thai trade counselors posted overseas, private-sector representatives and the Bank of Thailand, the consensus was that the baht's strength and sluggish global trading would make it more difficult to achieve the high export target this year. 

http://tinyurl.com/pzqua6d

UAE Benefits From Influx of Emerging Market Capital

The UAE has emerged as the key beneficiary among the Gulf Cooperation Council nations of the increased inflow of private capital mostly from India, China and Russia, owing to the political stability and ideal local investment opportunity in the country, according to a study.
 
http://tinyurl.com/kyno9a9

What Emerging Market Currencies to Buy

Latin American foreign exchange leads the way when it comes to currencies to be bullish about, at least in the opinion of Societe Generale strategists. In a market note, they said they turned "tactically bullish" on the Brazilian real (BRL) as the authorities are not likely to allow it to weaken too much.

http://tinyurl.com/lc5p4sy

British Entrepreneurs Invest in Bulgaria

The suggestion that Bulgarians and Romanians will soon arrive in the UK in their thousands may have fueled UKIP's surge in the polls, provided column inches in the newspapers, and given news programs something to chew on - but it has also concealed the fact that there is quite a bit of migration in the other direction.

http://tinyurl.com/cnyugve

Consumer Stocks Shine in Emerging Markets

A broad collapse of company profits in the developing world shows no sign of abating, forcing investors to tilt portfolios towards sectors such as healthcare or consumer goods where margins are more robust.

http://tinyurl.com/bbnush7

BlackBerry Focuses on Emerging Markets with Q5

BlackBerry is counting on growth in emerging markets such as Brazil and Indonesia with a cheaper smartphone and a plan to expand the popular instant-messaging system that helped drive growth in those countries.

http://tinyurl.com/baka4x8

Central Banks Want to Hold Emerging-Market Currencies

Central banks want to add Chinese yuan and other emerging market currencies to their emergency cash stocks, according to a new International Monetary Fund survey, a change that could redefine the world’s reserve currencies.

http://tinyurl.com/d8rjx6m

Nokia Debuts $99 Smartphone for Emerging Markets

Struggling Finnish handset giant Nokia unveiled on Thursday its next generation of lower-end mobile smartphones as it seeks to gain traction in a market expected to be worth $40 billion by 2015.

http://tinyurl.com/bp7jef4

Emerging Markets: Lands of Eternal Promise

To journey from the bustle of street-traders, minibus taxis, heat and dust of an African city center to one of the pulsing arteries of global finance, all you need to do is walk a few steps, from the pavement to the towering coolness of the Johannesburg head office of Standard Bank, Africa’s biggest bank.

http://tinyurl.com/buk386h

Mexico Peso Gains on Fitch Upgrade

Mexico's peso gained late on Wednesday after Fitch upgraded the country's credit rating by one notch, boosting the appeal of Mexican assets, while steady global appetite for risk supported the Brazilian real.
 
http://tinyurl.com/d4w7h6g

Mondelez Targets Emerging Markets Growth

 

Mondelez International is reinvesting some of its profits in emerging markets, which account for nearly 40 per cent of its revenues, as it seeks to expand in countries where demand for snacks is showing most growth.

 

http://tinyurl.com/cdu8zew

Is Apple Missing Out on Emerging Markets?

Apple has announced fewer than a dozen new wireless-service providers to sell the device since September 2011, leaving the total at about 240. Holdouts represent billions of would-be subscribers in countries such as China, Japan, India and Russia, said Horace Dediu, a market analyst who runs Asymco.com.

http://tinyurl.com/blqk773

The Final Frontier for Emerging Markets

When investors think about emerging markets, they usually focus on the popular BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. But increasingly, even smaller countries are gaining investor attention.

http://tinyurl.com/cf5alp7

Fund Investors Leaving US for Emerging Markets

The Federal Reserve's policy of keeping interest rates low may be serving its purpose of spurring economic growth, but it's also caused some uneasiness for those nearing retirement and wondering about the safety of their retirement assets.

http://tinyurl.com/d47tnf4

Worldwide Prices of Rice May Increase Warns Igor Purlantov

Rice Stock Piles Running Low as Production Decreases Says Igor Purlantov

Despite the increasing demand for rice around the world, farmers are cultivating less of the crop while inventories continue to plummet. Currently, analysts predict that rice production in major western hemisphere countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay are set to see double digit percentage declines. In the United States of America, land dedicated to rice cultivation has hit the lowest level since 1987 at 2.6 million arose, down 30% from 3.4 million acres in 2010 according to the United States Department of Agriculture. This unprecedented combination of low stock piles couples with a decrease in land dedicated to price cultivation provides for a dangerous recipe that all but guarantees an increase in world wise prices of rice for the short to medium term says Igor Purlantov. 

For the last 30 years, Thailand has enjoyed being the world’s biggest rice exporter. Recently however, the Thailand Development Research Institute has reported that year on year exports have fallen by 44% since the start of 2012. Given this dramatic decrease in rice exports, it is now only a matter of time before India or Vietnam takes the number one position which raises many questions about either of their abilities to supply world markets at current demand levels. Under a rice mortgage scheme, the Thai government has been buying rice directly from local farmers for around $500 a ton, which is twice the normal market rate. According to Igor Purlantov, it is unclear just how much rice has been stockpiles will be released to world markets. Given this uncertainty, analysts have become skeptical that this stockpile will alleviate the increase in prices that are set to continue for the foreseeable future. 

Part of the reason rice production has decreased despite continued demand is the fact that farmers are switching land production to cater to other crops, notably soybeans. This switch has been driven by large part by the increase in price for urea, a nitrogen based plant food used in rice cultivation says Igor Purlantov. The price of urea has increased from $500 a ton to more than $700 a ton in less than one year due to demand for the product by corn growers who are enjoying historic high prices and are willing to pay a premium for the much needed nitrogen based fertilizer. Likewise, rice farmers that have switched to cultivating soybeans are also chasing prices that are now at four year highs. 

This combination of low inventory around the world, lower production outputs, along with decreased exports and increased demand by consumers, creates the perfect storm for rice prices to increase and possibly even sky rocket for the next one to three years. According to Igor Purlantov, although Asian and western hemisphere rice markets tend to operate separately, Asian markets dominate when it comes to price trends and forecasts. This is due to the larger volume of news and available data required to support the fact that more rice is grown and consumed in Asia (where milled rice if more popular, versus the west where unmilled or rough rice reigns supreme). 

Currently, Asian markets for rice futures point to an increase in prices for the short and medium term. Although follow Asian trends, given their current similarities in low inventory and decreased output, it is a near certainty that prices in the western hemisphere will likewise trend further up and increase from current levels. Ultimately, rice markets around the world may play off of each other as prices continue to bounce around and increase as traders look to capitalize on these trends. At the end of the day says Igor Purlantov, consumers can expect to pay more for rice on their tables regarding of whether they are eating in Sao Paulo or Shanghai.

Igor Purlantov is an expert on business and politics across emerging markets.   Mr. Purlantov has worked extensively in various emerging countries throughout Europe, Asia and Africa with both public and private companies as well as local governments.  You can learn more about Igor Purlantov on www.purlantov.info or follow him on twitter @igor_purlantov

Unilever: Emerging Markets Ride to the Rescue Again

The trend is clear. Again and again, FTSE 100 companies are banking ever racier profits in emerging markets, while revenues stall closer to home, especially in Europe. Unilever  is the latest happy traveler, taking a fruitful trip to Asia and Latin America, joining companies as diverse as GlaxoSmithKline, Vodafone, IMI, Experian, Serco Group, and many more.

http://tinyurl.com/cwz4fc2

Airports and Hotels in Emerging Markets Outpace the West

From Asia to Africa to the Middle East and the Americas, the business of business travel is booming in emerging countries. And it shows.

http://tinyurl.com/ce2c45e