globalEDGE Blog - By Tag: International-Business

Franchises have been booming worldwide. Close to 10 million employees work at approximately 400,000 franchise locations worldwide. Franchise owners enjoy that they can open a restaurant without as much risk, and the restaurants enjoy the increase in revenue coming from new stores in a variety of countries. One of the most recent booms in the franchise world is the massive growth in Latin markets. In the past year alone Brazil has experienced a 15% growth in franchises, Mexico has had a 13% increase, and Argentina also had double digit growth with 10.5%. 

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In today’s technology driven society, web browsers are very important as people spend many hours using the internet for business needs or gathering information from sources around the world. A few weeks ago, Google Chrome became the most popular web browser worldwide for a single day, edging out the long-standing dominance of Internet Explorer. Claiming the top spot for only one day may not seem like a noteworthy event, but how Google Chrome was able to take the lead is very important in terms of international business.

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Many small businesses are achieving success by selling to customers within their domestic borders. While this is a solid strategy, opportunities exist around the world that will allow further business growth. These opportunities lie within expanding business into new markets abroad. Going global may seem difficult at first but for many small businesses it provides a proven growth strategy. Doug Barry of the United States Commercial Service states that profit margins for international sales tend to be higher and he also offers several tips for entering international markets. We will now take a look at these suggestions and see how easy international business can really be!

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Starbucks Corporation recently announced that it will begin opening cafés in India and plans on opening its first café as early as August.  Starbucks’ arrival in India is a result of a joint venture with Indian company Tata Global Beverages, which is currently the country’s largest conglomerate.  Although India is traditionally a tea drinking country, consumer demand for coffee is increasing.  In fact, domestic coffee consumption has increased by an astonishing 80 percent in the last decade. 

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28 percent of all US organizations are using cloud computing according to a software supplier based out of Illinois that conducted a poll last month. Many other forecasters, such Gartner, are estimating that the cloud computing market could be a $150 billion market by 2013; A pretty sizable amount indeed for a still-growing sector.

Cloud computing did not have such an optimistic outlook just by being the new technological bubble. The implications cloud computing bring to international business vary and are far reaching. The changes have already started occurring with many organizations switching to cloud file storage, email, and web and video conferencing.

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Amid speculation of tax reform in the near future as Tim Geithner has stated, many critics have wondered what the United States will do to curb the appetite for our cash hungry government. Many have brought up that the U.S. has the one of the highest tax brackets amongst the OECD (Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development). This statement is true; the United States is almost at the top of that list with 35 percent as its top corporate tax bracket, trailing only Japan that tops out at 39.5 percent. This statistic is actually misleading though. While the U.S. has one of the highest statutory tax rates, its marginal tax rate is 27.1 percent. This is due to all the loopholes and tax break incentives the current tax code offers. Many other countries do not offer such tax breaks to companies. To put this figure into perspective, here is a list of other OECD countries and their marginal tax rate in 2008:

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I was first introduced to cultural intelligence (CQ) in my international management class this past year, and was highly intrigued by the topic. CQ is a person's capability to function effectively in situations characterized by cultural diversity. When the opportunity rose to read The Cultural Intelligence Difference, I jumped at the chance. Dr. David Livermore wrote the book to essentially give the everyday person, whether you are a teacher, doctor, entrepreneur or CEO, strategies to increase your CQ.  Here is a little excerpt of an example from the book that may apply to you:

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When you think of a major international business hub, densely populated metropolitan areas such as London, Tokyo, and New York City come to mind. They are home to many multinational corporations’ headquarters and countless commercial offices; business never seems to cease in these cities. The relentless rise of electricity prices and a growing demand for high-quality power could drastically change the geography of these international business hubs in the next decade.

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In October 2010's newsletter, I discussed some of the statistics regarding the global water supply. To summarize: the situation is not good. Many industry experts and market pundits have suggested that the combination of low supply and higher demand will lead water to one day be traded just like other commodities such as gold and oil. Companies are catching onto the trend and are seeking to strengthen their water pipeline divisions in order to supply the expected future demand.

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As we are wrapping up this globalEDGE blog series of “top trends,” we thought there’d be no better way to finish then with a custom-made list talking about top global business trends as seen by us here at globalEDGE. The list is in no particular order (i.e. trend number 1 is no more prevalent then trend number 5), but we feel that all of these trends are making themselves known in the international marketplace now. Here’s the list!

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Each year, Ernst & Young releases a Global Business Risk Report, which highlights the ten most significant risks to global businesses. Compiling views from leading analysts, academics and industry executives, the report does a nice job of showing what companies need to be on the lookout for in 2011 and beyond. Here is the preliminary 2011 list, with the number in parenthesis being the rank from 2010:

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To increase productivity and save large amounts of money on labor costs, many companies are either setting up outposts overseas or contracting third parties in other countries to do some of their work for them. This trend is known to most as offshoring, and while it continues to grow, many predict that we haven't seen the worst of it.

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As globalization becomes an increasingly important trend in the business world, finding the right country to conduct business in may seem like a difficult task. However, it could be easier than you think. The International Finance Corporation, an organization under the World Bank, develops an index to rank 183 countries based on their ease of doing business. The country rankings depend on nine different percentile categories including: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and closing a business.

Here is the list of the top ten countries:

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In the business world competition is something companies must thrive on. In order to survive in this cut throat global economy, companies have to be able to compete with each other and show their strengths. Our coming blog series is based on just that, competition. We will be show casing the best of the best in international business.

Any international business professional should be aware of the world around them. We will help you out by putting the important information all in one place. This week watch for lists of the top countries for offshoring, top global business cities, top traded commodities, top countries in the ease of doing business, top business risks, and top international business trends. It is essential to stay on top of the latest trends and know where in the world potential for business growth lies. All of these lists should help you to get a feel of the current international business environment, and see ‘What’s On Top’.  So come back later this week for some awesome posts!

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Everyone has been hearing about it lately.  Look at any news site and it will be the top story if not many of the top five stories.  Ever since Mohamed Al Bouazizi set himself on fire in December to protest Tunisia’s economic situation, revolution has been spreading across the Middle East.  These conflicts are demonstrating how some of the world’s smallest countries can have great effects on the rest of the planet.

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After the official unpegging of the Renminbi (Also referred to as the yuan) to the dollar mid-way through last year, China has surprisingly started to increase the flexibility of the Renminbi and is actively encouraging the globalization of the currency.  Much of this change has come for two reasons. The first is as China has become the world’s second largest domestic economy, the need for a globalized currency becomes exponentially more important. Also, international pressures on the Renminbi and China, especially from the U.S., have started to force change.

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In Kabul, Afghanistan the United States established the new American Chamber and named Dom LaVigne as its first executive director this past November. Dom LaVigne, former executive director of the American Chambers of Commerce in Singapore and Malaysia, recently sat down with International Trade Specialist Doug Barry to discuss the many opportunities for business in Kabul.

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When most people think about rare earth mining, they think miners extract a chunk of lanthanum or cerium, send it to Apple, and they put it in their newest iGadget. However, few know that there are two different types of rare earths with wide ranging uses and prices. In addition, raw minerals must be processed using a complicated (and often dangerous) process to extract the individual elements.

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Wondering where to go next? The answer is easy, Korea. Approaching the top ten largest economies in the world, it is often overlooked because of its physical distance and the close proximity of its big brothers China and Japan. In fact, Korea has recently doubled its GDP and its imports from the United States. So while recent news may be bringing adverse attention to Korea, it is starting to bring to the spotlight an economy that is growing and is expected to soon become a major economic partner of the United States.

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On November 23rd North Korea fired artillery on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong as a response to South Korea performing military drills near disputed maritime border. Besides the obvious restrictions set on North Korea by global super powers, some businesses are also taking steps to protect their employees from the potential threat.

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There are 33 CIBERs within the United States. These Centers for International Business Education and Research (CIBERs) were created by Congress under the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, the purpose being to increase and promote the nation's capacity for international understanding and competitiveness.

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There has been a debate going on for many years, the true value of investing in frontier markets. The results of investing in frontier markets seem inherently leveraged when compared to the results of investing in the more steady paced developed markets. While people with safety as the forefront of their current investment philosophy may not have any desire to invest in these markets, the intelligent investor with the time and knowledge to invest for the long run can benefit greatly from investing in the frontier. I believe that right now is a good time to put money down for the long run in these growing markets.

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Just two years ago the second worst depression in history hit us. Recently we have started pulling ourselves out of it, albeit slowly. Looking around at the depression’s results, the question is almost begging to be asked, did we learn anything from the first one?

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This talk by Dan Cobley, a Director of Marketing at Google, brings great insight into the parallels between Newton’s Law and marketing. Specifically, why are new brands created instead of just extending current brands? He demonstrates that inertia can work for you or against you depending on the circumstances.

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Recently, Ernst and Young released a report highlighting the top global trends affecting business today. These are the key issues that business leaders should be looking at right now:

1. The increasing political and economic dominance of emerging markets will cause global companies to rethink and customize their corporate strategies.

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As many travelers still feel the pinch of the recession on their wallets, a new market begs for attention as it couples the price tag of a hostel, convenience of a hotel and the homey feel of a bed and breakfast. This new way of travel accommodations is basically a social networking bed and breakfast and has expanded in the past years in Europe. Half a dozen startup companies have emerged in this market in the past two years including the likes of Crashpadder.com, iStopOver.com, ArBnB.com, and Roomorama.com. With this new market opening up, international businesses are looking to reap the rewards of this new type of traveler and hoping it will increase business abroad.

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