globalEDGE Newsletter
October 2005
Vol. 4 - Issue 5
Our featured country this month is New Zealand.
New Zealand has grown to where it is today by having a robust economy, an efficient agricultural system, and strong demands for its exports. Its human diversity, open spaces, wit, flexibility and sheer tenacity have taken New Zealand from a rugged, isolated country and positioned it at the cutting edge of adventure, knowledge, and technological advancement. The country has recently enjoyed positive publicity when the World Bank concluded that New Zealand is the easiest country in which to conduct business.
This is due to New Zealand's embrace of foreign investment. One of its closest economic ties is with Australia. The two countries are partners in "Closer Economic Relations" (CER), which allows for free trade in goods and most services. Over the past twenty years, the New Zealand government has also transformed the country from an agrarian economy dependent on concessionary British market access to a more industrialized, free market economy that can compete globally. Today, New Zealand is heavily dependent on trade (particularly in agricultural products such as dairy products, meat, wood, fish, and machinery) to drive growth. This dynamic growth has boosted real incomes, and per capita income has risen for the last six consecutive years. In 2004, New Zealand held a GDP-real growth rate of 4.8% with a purchasing power parity of $92.51 billion.
globalEDGE has more information and links on New Zealand at:
http://globaledge.msu.edu/ibrd/CountryIntro.asp?CountryID=160
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Are We on Course? Success and Failure for the UN's 2015 Development Targets
BBC News (September 14, 2005)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/millennium_development_goals/html/default.stm
The United Nations set the Millennium Development Goals in 1990, which are a set of targets to reduce global poverty and improve standards around the world by 2015. BBC News has broken down each of the Millennium Development Goals to gauge the progress since 1990 and what still needs to be done by 2015 to attain each of the goals. The report is broken down to subsections about poverty and hunger, education, gender equality, child mortality, maternal health, combat disease, environment, and global partnership.
Zimbabwe and the IMF
BBC News (September 1, 2005)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4185502.stm
BBC News has complied a special report that investigates Zimbabwe and its present problems. Currently, officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are laying groundwork to determine whether Zimbabwe should be expelled from the organization because of a number of unpaid debts. BBC News have complied a series of articles from different views and perspectives about the current issues within Zimbabwe and predictions for the future.
More "Special Reports" from globalEDGE at:
http://globaledge.msu.edu/KnowledgeRoom/SpecialReports/
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The Global Car Industry: Extinction of the Predator
The Economist (September 8, 2005)
http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?story_id=4369762
The global car industry is going to experience some major changes in the near future. Some experts predict that over the next twenty years more cars will be made, than in the entire 110-year history of the industry, because of controversies over high fuel prices and fuel-guzzling SUVs. It is also predicted that the motorization of China and India will result in China replacing Japan as the second-largest national market after America. This news will probably result in a revamping of the way the car industry operates. Some experts believe that famous carmakers will own the technology and brands, while manufacturing and distribution will be contracted out to engineering manufacturers. The consolidation of car companies over the last couple decades will come to a halt, and this will give way to swifter, smarter carmakers that will reshape the global industry.
How Long Can the Good Times Last for the Shipping Industry?
The Economist (August 18, 2005)
http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=4304337
With increased trade, the shipping industry is seeing record profits with $80 billion last year alone. Rates for transporting oil in very large tankers are at twice their level since the 2001-2003 period. The market capitalization of the tanker industry was a mere $2.5 billion in 2000, but it currently stands at $20 billion. However, many analysts predict that the industry will falter even with the increases in trade. With record profits, the shipping industry has been expanding their capacity aggressively through new ship orders. But even as growth is expected to be 9% next year, many predict that supply will overshadow demand in 2006.
More "Selected Articles" from globalEDGE at:
http://globaledge.msu.edu/KnowledgeRoom/SelectedArticles/
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A sample of some of our recently added sites:
Free Trade Area of the Americas-FTAA
http://www.alca-ftaa.org/alca_e.asp
This site provides documents on summits held in Miami, Quebec, Santiago and Monterrey. Also available are ministerial speeches, reports of the Trade Negotiation Committee, foreign investment reports for Latin America and the Caribbean, reports on the role of Civil Society in the Trade Negotiations Committee, etc. Some documents appear in Spanish. In addition, a database is accessible providing information on a country's trade statistics, tariffs, and other related information that can be accessed by selecting either a country or a group of interest. Finally, by selecting a specific country from the country list, a plethora of information can be found on topics like government procurement, market access, investment, and competition policy.
Listed in the following category: Trade: Trade Portals
Listed in the following regions: North America, Latin America
The Encyclopedia of Corporate Governance
http://www.encycogov.com/
Encycogov is an academic encyclopedia about corporate governance intended for use by students, academics, business people and government officials. It provides useful and well-documented web-based resources about topics that are relevant for understanding issues in corporate governance.
Listed in the following category: IB Topics: Corporate Governance
New Zealand: The New Zealand Herald
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/
The New Zealand Herald provides national, world, business, and money news as well as some coverage on the lifestyle sector.
Listed in the following category: News & Periodicals: Regional News
A list of recently added sites to globalEDGE is available at:
http://globaledge.msu.edu/ibrd/whatsnew.asp
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Featured Discussion: New Zealand as a Competitor in Global Business
The World Bank conducted a recent study that concluded New Zealand is the most "business-friendly" nation in the world. It was not too long ago that New Zealand was conducting its economic business through the British market, but it's easy to forget the immense modifications the country has undergone with business doing so well. Singapore, the United States, Canada, and Norway round out the top five "business-friendly" nations in the world. Also noted in the report was that Canada was the easiest country to start a business in and that Serbia and Montenegro have made the most pro-business changes last year.
Do you feel that the report is accurate? Have you had any experience in terms of conducting business with or in these countries? Do you feel that other countries should be on the list? If so, which countries? What other thoughts do you have about the report?
Join our online community to discuss this and many other current business topics!
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