globalEDGE Blog Archive July 2012

Water is a precious thing. But why? After all 75% of Earth is water. However, of this percent, only 3% is drinkable. And of this, 70% is found in the polar caps as ice. This means that of all the water on Earth, less than 1% of it is available for us to drink. That’s why we are constantly being reminded to save water. Global warming, increase in population and industrialization have all taken a toll on Earth’s water supply. But saving water is not the only thing we must do to protect it. We need to make sure that we don’t pollute it, nor let others pollute it. Aamir Khan, in his show Satyamev Jayate (with English subtitles), shares insight to the devastating water problem in India.

In a continent where the Internet is scarcely available, computers are often too expensive to buy, and online business transactions can be extremely complicated to conduct, Africa is experiencing an upwelling in mobile phone use as a means of sharing information and doing business. Of the 695 million current mobile phone subscribers in Africa, the vast majority of this demographic does not belong to the middle and upper class, where e-commerce is commonly conducted on computers. According to Primedia Online business development manager Susan Hansford, many mobile phone subscribers still live in small, remote villages, where advertising high-priced consumer goods would make little to no sense. Stemming from these circumstances, Africa has since provided innovators and investors the unique opportunity of reaching millions through markets based around mobile phone use.

Dubai was always seen as the future and had unimaginable developments throughout the emirate. After tough economic times Dubai had temporarily stopped many of its large glamorous projects. Why is it then that Nigeria has invested US$52.2 million into the emirate’s property market in the first six months of this year? Without ever stepping out of Dubai airport Central Bank of Nigeria official, Osita Nwanisobi, was convinced to buy a flat in Dubai. He believes Dubai is a guaranteed return on investment and sees it as a world center.

Exports are a vital source of growth at a time when the market in the U.S. and in Europe is fragile. Exports are now contributing to the U.S.’s recovery and growth at a higher percentage than the previous two recessions and subsequent recoveries. There is no better example of this than Combustion Associates, a California based company whose foreign sales make up 90% of their total revenue. Recently, Doug Barry sat down with Kusum and Mukund Kavia, a married couple who came from Bangladesh via London to the U.S. with not a lot of money, but a whole lot of determination.

The 2012 Summer Olympics will undoubtedly have a major impact on the British Economy. Prime Minister David Cameron has already stated that the Olympic Games will give Britain a 13 billion pound economic boost. With the 2012 Olympics in London shaping up to be the most expensive games in history, much is expected from the Olympics in terms of economic growth for the United Kingdom. However with all this talk about its impact on Britain, the Summer Olympics may have an even greater impact on the global business world.

After an 18-year effort, the Russian Parliament has finally approved the country's entry into the World Trade Organization. While the other nations of the W.T.O. had agreed to Russia's entry in December, the acceptance still required a majority vote in Russia's lower house of Parliament, known as the Duma. What could have been a routine acceptance, since President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party controls the Duma, was interrupted by strong opposition by the unusually vocal Communist Party. As the ratification dragged on, Russia's economic minister Andrei Belousov warned lawmakers that the agreement reached towards the end of 2011 would expire if not ratified by the mid-July deadline. This sparked a vote by the Duma, which voted 238 to 208 in favor of joining, with one abstention.

As we just celebrated the 4th of July, instead of honoring the mark of this nation’s freedom, there is more talk about the holiday falling on a Wednesday. This is the time families travel miles to spend the weekend together and enjoy fireworks and cookouts. Employees see this as an opportunity for a potential long weekend. Tuesday becomes the new Friday and they become less productive and more unfocused. Employers on the other hand cannot afford to lose such a critical day in the week.

The BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) constitute 20% of the world economy, and, according the IMF, will have a projected combined GDP of more than $14 trillion this year.  Growth and prosperity have been bestowed upon these now-influential powers for the past decade.  But clear signals are being given that these economic bastions are heading towards a muddy path, like most macro bull run investments do.

The Academy of International Business is holding a conference this week focusing on rethinking the roles of business, government and NGOs in the global economy.  The conference is sponsored by George Washington University and the University of Maryland. Every year, AIB members from 77 countries partake in conferences and activities that involve discussions, key-note speakers, and networking opportunities from professionals and academics around the world. To learn more about this year’s conference or become a member yourself, see our AIB page.