Here are at least eight reasons why India is a seriously compelling story for investors:

1. Size of India

India’s GDP is currently US$1.3 trillion, making it the eighth largest economy in the world. However, in PPP terms, which recognises India’s low cost base, the GDP notionally rises to three times this amount (US$3.8 trillion) which places it on a similar size to Japan and, by 2013, it will become the third largest economy in the world (after the USA and China) in PPP terms. However, despite representing 7.5 percent of Global GDP (on a PPP basis) in 2010, India attracts less than 0.5 percent of investment inflows. An anomaly which is unlikely to continue for much longer!

2. Economic growth

India’s economy is currently growing by 8.75 percent per annum (in 2010) and this GDP growth rate is expected to increase to 9-10 percent per annum for each of the next 10 years. India’s GDP will grow five times in the next 20 years, and GDP per capita will almost quadruple.

3. Diversity

The Indian economy offers investors exposure to a wide range of opportunities from consumer goods and pharmaceuticals to infrastructure, energy and agriculture. With its strong services sector (comprising 50 percent of India’s economy), particularly in knowledge-based services (IT, software and business services) India has proved that industrialisation and the export of commodities and resources is not the only path to rapid economic development.

4. Demographics

India is one of the youngest countries in the world, with an average age of 25 and likely to get younger. India’s working-age population will increase by 240 million over the next 20 years. With a population of 1.2 billion, a strong work ethic, high levels of education, democracy, English language skills and an entrepreneurial culture, India is poised to dominate the global economy in the next 20 years.

5. High Savings

With a savings rate of 37 percent of GDP, India’s domestic savings fuels most of its investment requirements, and only 20 percent of India’s total public debt is sourced from foreign borrowing. With significant investment to be made in upgrading India’s poor infrastructure in the next 10 years (estimated to be US$1.7 trillion) India’s government is taking various steps to further encourage private and foreign investments.

6. Domestic economy

India’s domestic consumption, generally led by the private sector, has played a significant role in India’s growth and is expected to remain firm as more people enter the workforce and the emerging middle classes. India’s wealthiest consumers (those earning US$1 million or more in PPP terms) will increase by 40 million in the next 10 years! Every sector within India’s consumer market is booming, making India far less vulnerable to external shocks and pressures than other emerging markets.

7. Robust financial sector

India has a robust, diversified and well regulated financial system which has allowed it to weather the global financial crisis without any major difficulties and present an image of quality, resilience and transparency. India’s banking sector is strong, with top quality balance sheets, high levels of competition (there are around 80 banks in India) and strong corporate governance.

8. Quality of Investment Markets

The Bombay Stock Exchange is the second oldest in the world (165 years) and offers investors a low cost, highly efficient, modern and well governed environment in which to prosper from India’s extraordinary economic growth. The Indian stockmarket has generated investment returns of over 15 percent per annum for the last 10 years and experts expect this rate to increase in the next decade. More significantly perhaps, Indian investors have doubled their money over the last three years at a time when many have lost money in almost every other market.

Don’t take my word for it: talk to investment professionals and advisers who can offer you objective and independent forward-thinking advice. But don’t wait another 10 years to find that India offered a compelling investment story, or you might be too late!

I am grateful to Bharat Shah and my friends at ASK Investment Managers for their assistance with some of the points made above, and hope that ASK and other Indian specialists will continue to promote Indian investment opportunities in Australia.

—David Thomas is CEO of Think Global

Related posts:

1. India economic growth good for Australia India’s continued economic growth will provide a number of export...
2. Invest in China through Hong Kong Hong Kong will be a key conduit between China and...
3. China, India, key to global economic growth The world’s top two countries for economic growth—China and India—will...

The competition began last year in Hong Kong, to find the best teamaker of this very distinct beverage. As an event, it highlighted the cultural aspects of Kam Cha as well as led to renewed interest in the beverage. This year, select locations around the world—three locations in China, and also Canada and Australia—became satellite competitions, with the winners from each travelling to Hong Kong to compete against each other.

It prompted me to think about what Australian food and beverage exporters could do to promote our produce, goods and services; surely there’s no better way to win the heart of the global market than through its stomach?

Perhaps we could turn Australian MasterChef fervour into a native gastronomic challenge complete with wine matching? How about a dairy challenge via a Tim Tam slam? Or what about a pie-making contest with Aussie meat and pastry made from our flour and butter?

Austrade already run a number of food-related promotions around the world: G’Day USA in January every year is one prominent example of making exports delicious. But I challenge industry associations, trade shows, or even individual businesses to run an event like the Kam Cha competition that will have the same scale of positive effects for Australian food and beverage.

Rong Gen Su is the Australian Kam Cha champion who will contest the International Kam Cha Competition 2010 in Hong Kong on August 14 at the HKTDC Hong Kong International Tea Fair.

Related posts:

1. Victorian food and wine stars in Hong Kong A recent report commissioned by the Victorian Government has identified...
2. Invest in China through Hong Kong Hong Kong will be a key conduit between China and...
3. Exports to Hong Kong: good to grape Australian grapes have seen a rise in popularity in Hong...

A little bit of thought would contribute towards reducing headaches and saving money along with providing some scope for achieving the overseas market aspirations in the best interest of the business. Intuitively, businesses like to assume they know how to approach these activities, but here are my ideas on a list of questions to ask for greater assurance. I believe these will help any business develop insights on whether they are ready to start on an export journey.

Spare a moment to consider these questions:

• Are the directors supportive and think of export as integral to the future of the business?
• Does someone have time to build and liaise with overseas prospects/customers?
• Is venturing into exporting part of the overall business strategy?
• Does the offering have a uniqueness that is potentially attractive to an overseas market?
• For which overseas market is the offering potentially a good fit?
• Can the offer be adapted to meet foreign cultural preferences or legislative requirements?
• What is the offering’s competitive advantage?
• Can you demonstrate a good track record in your local market?
• Do you have an organised and defined approach locally?
• Where will you receive advice on how to develop an overall focus for export?
• Will you need to have support service in the target marketplace?
• Will production capacity cope with supply to additional markets?
• Can you meet the necessary export/import regulations, food safety standards?
• Do you know how to pinpoint the best market?
• Can you strictly adhere to promises of deadlines and delivery?
• How will you manage communication, and will you need an interpreter?
• What financial support may be required, short, medium and longer term?
• Do you have appropriate insurance coverage?
• Do you have a contact with expertise and access to logistics support?
• Do you have adequate knowledge of payment mechanisms and negotiating deals?

So you thought there was nothing to it? Think again! Some businesses jump directly into implementation when it comes to export and bypass the whole notion of a bit of navel-gazing to set the scene and establish a supportive environment internally around exporting. Those who start by contemplating some basic questions as outlined above will fare better for tackling the hurdles and surprises that will arise along any export journey.

Spending a little time to assess the business’ export readiness is important because it will help with the all important decisions such as capability to service an international marketplace or whether it’s better to devote more time on the home turf before challenging the business to export.

Investing a little time in answering these questions before taking the plunge into foreign territory will maximise your opportunity and enable you to focus on what you want to achieve. That way, you’ll have a clear vision to plan for and work towards. You will feel more confident and sure about your goals. Preparedness will set you apart from your competition, which may well be contending for the same opportunity.

Related posts:

1. Become export ready in 3 steps Are you thinking about exporting your product or service? Congratulations,...
2. Is your website export ready? Peter Mace prompts exporters on their readiness to take on...
3. Developing an international marketing plan I often get asked the question: “How do you develop...

Yes, I know he had to go for all kinds of domestic, parochial, poll-driven, factional and political reasons but, for a brief shining moment, Australia stood tall on the world stage, with our Mandarin-speaking Prime Minister rubbing shoulders with leaders of countries of far greater significance than our own and, for the first time in a long time, Australians (or perhaps only me?) had reason to believe that we really were making a difference in defining the new world order of the 21st century.

Who will forget that moment at APEC 2007 in Sydney when Kevin Rudd, then leader of the opposition, dared to trump John Howard in his crowning moment, and addressed the Chinese delegation in Mandarin. The delighted look on the face of Hu Jintao and his aides said it all, John Howard squirmed, Alexander Downer gritted his teeth and the Howard Government knew that it was all over for them.

And later, in his early days as Prime Minister, at a meeting of the G8 in which the ’shadow nations’ (now all members of the G20) were invited to participate, Kevin Rudd found himself introducing President Hu Jintao of China to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India and acting as translator. This informal but poignant moment was perfectly captured on camera and reported in the Canberra Times:

As Prime Minister Kevin Rudd lingered with his Indian counterpart Manhohan Singh in what leaders jokingly referred to as the G8 ‘holding pen’ on Wednesday, another of the eight invited guests wandered up to join the conversation. China’s President Hu Jintao normally has an interpreter at his elbow and apparently was unaware that on this occasion, he had momentarily given his linguistic aide the slip. As Hu proceeded with rapid-fire small talk and Singh looked blank, the Mandarin-speaking Australian leader’s conduit moment arrived. For the minute or two before the panic-stricken interpreter rushed over, Rudd did the translation. He was doubtless quite chuffed that little old Australia had made such a practical contribution.

I also remember those heady days in early 2008 when I visited China several times and basked in the glory of living in a country whose Prime Minister was recognised and admired by the average man in the street. The only leader of any western nation to ever address the Chinese in their own language. A real game changer if ever there was one.

“Where are you from?” asked the taxi driver in almost perfect English as I jumped into the back seat of the cab, “Australia” I said proudly. “Ah!” he said, with a wide toothless smile, “your Prime Minister – Lu Kuwen – he speak very good Mandarin!” Now, that doesn’t happen every day!

Please don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against Julia Gillard. In fact, I’m sure she’ll be a very good Prime Minister, and will take care of all those things that matter the most to average Australians. But I thought she was already doing a great job has his deputy! While Kevin Rudd was strutting the world stage, signing Kyoto, attending the G20, staying up all hours at Copenhagen and redefining Australia’s role in the Asia Pacific, Julia Gillard was  doing a fabulous job as acting Prime Minister. The perfect combination for Australia and now significantly depleted by the rather sudden and brutal dumping of Kevin Rudd.

I hope he will return as Foreign Minister, or as Ambassador to the United Nations or in some other significant role, because Kevin Rudd did a great job for Australia, much more than perhaps anyone realises, and placed us firmly on the map alongside important countries around the world. He will be badly missed, not only by me, but I hope that we haven’t seen the last of him. I’m sure we haven’t.

Related posts:

1. G20 more effective than UN: Rudd Prime Minister Kevin Rudd yesterday addressed the United Nations to...
2. Asia-Pacific won’t be EU: Rudd Prime Minister Kevin Rudd wants an Asia-Pacific conglomerate to address...
3. Rudd urges Indians to abide by law Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has responded to an activist’s encouragement...

Back in the dark days of the GFC, the doomsayers predicted an Armageddon scenario in eastern Europe, with escalating debt, banking collapses and corporate failures likely to wipe Russia and some of its neighbours off the economic map for at least a decade or two.

As it turns out, it was Western Europe we should have worried about. The Russians are fast recovering from the global downturn, with predictions of a very respectable GDP growth rate of over 5.5 percent this year, and not one bank failure, corporate collapse or sovereign debt default to justify any of the doomsayers.

Furthermore, with rising disposable income and low personal debt, Russia’s rapidly growing middle class are doing their bit for the global economy judging by retail sales in Moscow, which now exceed those in London and Paris, and the 7 million mobile phones purchased in the first quarter of 2010 alone.

Even more encouraging are the moves being made by President Dmitry Medvedev to seriously address two of Russia’s most widely reported long-term problems:

An ageing population: The government is introducing a number of programs designed to improve Russia’s demographic profile by supporting foster families, improving pre-school education and offering financial incentives payments for second births.

An over-reliance on oil and gas exports: Medvedev’s 2008 blueprint Strategy 2020 includes an ambitious plan to attract foreign capital to an “innovation city” in the Moscow suburb of Skolkovo designed to “revive the greatness of a nation once known for scientific and technological achievement”.

His vision is for the technology sector to make up 15 percent of exports by 2020, attracting billions of investment into innovative projects and driving out corruption, abuse and theft, which is one of Russia’s greatest problems. I heard last week that Medvedev had sacked 14,000 policemen; I am sure there’s still a long way to go but that must be a good start.

Russia’s economic fundamentals are already the envy of most of Europe, their GDP per capita is the highest of all the BRICs (currently US$9,750 rising to US$15,500 by 2014, according to the International Monetary Fund) and Russian corporate earnings are expected to be the highest in the world in 2010, according to East Capital.

Russia is currently the sixth largest economy in the world, will be one of the top performing stockmarkets of 2010, and their fast growing economy offers significant potential to exporters and investors. Don’t believe everything you read in the press!

Related posts:

1. Russia confident of WTO membership Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is confident the country will join...
2. Russia opts for quick, solo WTO entry Russia will prepare its entry to the World Trade Organisation...
3. Tasmanian researcher goes to Russia University of Tasmania researcher Professor Michael Negnevitsky has been invited...

With our common interest in China as the world’s largest consumer of our resources, commodities and agriculture, it is puzzling to find that the trading and cultural links between Australia and Brazil are virtually non-existent. In one meeting with oil and gas company Petrobras, Australia didn’t even appear on their world map of international trading partners! There appears to be no serious engagement at a business, trade, investment or even political level.

Here are five reasons to place Brazil high on your list of priorities for investment, business expansion and exports in the coming years:

1. Demographics

With a large population of 198 million, and an average age of only 28, Brazil’s demographics are compelling compared to almost any other emerging market, other than India’s average age of 25. This is a young, energetic country with a bright and exciting future.

2. Agriculture and Resources

Brazil is a vast country, richly endowed with rainforests, arable land, minerals, commodities, oil and gas, plus plentiful supplies of water. However, while Brazil is already the world’s largest exporter of many things, including cattle, sugar, coffee, orange juice, and poultry, more than 300m hectares of Brazil’s arable land is yet to be cultivated. A similar story applies to its resources: the potential is enormous!

3. Domestic Consumption

Brazil’s exports are strong and diversified, but domestic demand that has been driving Brazil’s GDP growth since 2006. This enabled Brazil to quickly recover from global downturn. Incomes have risen rapidly, more than 30 million people have joined the middle classes in the last five years, and now retail sales are growing by over 10 percent per annum.

4. Renewable Energy

Brazil is predominantly powered by water-generated energy, with 83 percent of the country’s total energy generated from renewable sources. Brazil is virtually self-sufficient when it comes to generating its own power.

5. An Exciting Future

With the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics to be hosted by Rio in 2016, Brazil will be in the global spotlight in the coming years, and you can expect to read and hear a lot more about Brazil in the media. But it’s in the hundreds of billions of REAL that will be spent on infrastructure, new sports facilities, hotels, homes, roads, airports and buildings, not to mention the vast consumption of products, services and expertise that will accompany these upgrades, that should be on the minds of every Australian investor, entrepreneur and business with an eye on the future.

It’s easy to underestimate Brazil from the images of soccer, sunny beaches and Carnaval in magazines, newspapers and on the TV. But this would be a mistake. It’s a serious and well-run country, with stable and improving economic fundamentals and, in the next 20 years, it will become one of the largest five economies in the world. Shouldn’t you be taking a flight across the Pacific Ocean to have a look?

—David Thomas is the CEO of Think Global Consulting

Related posts:

1. Building business with Brazil Leading Latin American nation, Brazil will soon be a global...
2. USA sees growth in Brazil, China, India The USA will begin a campaign targeting customers in Brazil,...
3. Doha Round stuck due to China, India, Brazil: USA US ambassador to the World Trade Organisation Michael Punke said...

Reliability, satisfaction, and increased value for the consumer rank as the highest values upon which channel partners will evaluate overseas suppliers. Excellent communication, openness, traceability, and willingness to provide full disclosure are essential.

Absence of these core values means long-term relationships will not come to fruition. When the Japanese buyer speaks of safety, they are referring to reassurance on not only quality control but more importantly consistency.

Japanese buyers have an enormous need for detail because they are accountable within the market. They take on the responsibility on behalf of the consumer and supplier. The ability for an Australian supplier to consistently meet the necessary standards and high quality provides the emotional reassurance to ensure a lasting and beneficial trading relationship.

Beyond taste, buyers are now seeking environmentally sensitive and conscious suppliers. For instance, product processes resulting in a lower carbon footprint will be highly attractive, as aspects related to lower CO2 emissions, reduced wastage during production and use, along with increased recycling really hit home with the Japanese consumers. From a consumer’s perspective, safety, and value for money, and country of origin rank extremely high on the prerequisites for acceptance and reassurance.

QR (Quick Response) codes are becoming more widely used on Japanese grocery items. These allow consumers to scan and receive information on the origins of a product via their mobile phone at point of sale. This is increasingly important for building credibility and transparency with Japanese consumers.

In 2008, a general survey of the Japanese populace found that food safety ranks fourth overall in relation to current concerns in life, after the environment, disaster and infection. In relation to food itself, safety also ranked fourth overall after attributes of fresh, price, and country of origin. In general, more and more consumers demand a reduction in pesticides and increase in safety. From the channel partner perspective the ranking of what’s important is safety, quality, and then price.

Understanding what motivates a potential channel to market partner in the Japanese market is a fundamental requisite for long term success in this most challenging market.

—Steve Dowling is the director of Clientlink

Related posts:

1. Japan opens market to Australian grapefruit Japan has announced complete market access for Australian grapefruit as...
2. Growth opportunities in food exports to Asia Parliamentary Secretary for Trade Anthony Byrne has highlighted the growth...
3. Australian Made supports food label reform The Australian Made, Australian Grown Campaign (AMAG) has thrown its...

Unfortunately, there isn’t always a quick answer. I have helped many companies establish their business offshore and I usually take a very simple approach to this by working with them to answer the following questions:

Why go global?
What is the organisation trying to achieve? Is it ‘hard’ benefits (e.g. more revenue, customers, profit, scale, diversification) or are there ’softer’ benefits (e.g. more excitement, travel, challenges, culture) that drives the organisation? It is easy for entrepreneurs to get caught up in the excitement of travelling overseas: sometimes my job is to stop them jumping on a plane and persuading them to stay at home to do some research first!

Where should you aim your business?
This is often the hardest question. With so many countries clambering to get hold of your unique product, service or capability, where on earth do you go first? Do you start with established markets like the US, UK, Europe or Japan, or do you look to the world’s emerging markets, notably China and India, with the biggest populations? You need a dispassionate, objective and sound approach to choose one country over another and this often takes time and research to do properly.

What are you exporting?
What product, capability or service are you going to export? How will this have to be adapted for new markets? How can you build a value proposition in a new market? How scalable is it? Will you be a niche player or do you need volume to make profits? You must understand all of this before going any further.

How will you approach the overseas market?
What do you know about the markets you are developing? What are the factors that will lead to success or failure? How committed are you to success in new markets? How much do you know about some of the cross-cultural aspects? What else will you need to learn to be successful?

Who is involved?
What extra support, resources and financial backing will you need to succeed offshore? Who do you need to involve, both internally and externally? Who can you go to for capital if you need it? Who will you appoint to develop your offshore business? Is it one of your top people? How will this impact on your domestic business?

When will you go global?
How and when will you launch offshore? Will you do one major launch or a series of soft launches? How will you ensure you are fully prepared? What happens if you achieve more than you expect? Can you cope?

As you can see, there are many issues, challenges and points to be addressed, and all of them take time to research, review and assess properly. Like all things in life, having a plan before you get started is a good idea!

Related posts:

1. Marketing Price Tenth in our True Cost of Exporting series is international...
2. Are you export ready? Recently a company contacted me and was wondering where to...
3. Brand Australia: marketing a nation In a boardroom in Sydney, an Italian, a Hungarian, an...

Apart from wondering how she copes with not having this bag on the plane when she flies overseas, I also started pondering the nature of risk.

The problem with risk is that sometimes it clouds the huge potential for gain. The media is often guilty of blowing things out of proportion, so when a country like Greece falls into economic trouble it can be difficult for outsiders to even think about that market without dredging up current prejudices.

The solution is to think laterally. For example, are there any opportunities for the Australian financial services sector in Greece? It doesn’t hurt to do some research. While it may turn out that your business doesn’t suit a particular market, it’s best to know for sure and not miss an opportunity.

Doing business overseas is a risk, but so many people do it because the rewards can be great. The information we now have about international economies has somewhat minimised the market risk for businesses. Take advantage of this information as often as you can afford the time (or money). After all, why burden yourself with an emergency kit when you have a friend who carries one?

Related posts:

1. Don’t risk it! Country Risk Conference Paris will host the 14th Coface Country Risk Conference in...
2. Website helps exporters manage global risk Global credit agency Coface has made their country risk and...
3. Documenting Risk Most people classify export documentation as tedious, but the reality...

Here are my high level observations on China’s retail sector, which is very relevant to all foreign retailers and other businesses looking to tap into China’s domestic consumption boom:

1. Chinese consumers are converging into global consumers.
Walking around the hyper-markets of Shanghai, the book stores of Beijing and reviewing the retail numbers in at least the first tier cities, I can confirm that Chinese shoppers look, behave and act very much like consumers in most other cities around the world.

They are perhaps more price sensitive than some and they are still learning how to sift through the vast range of products and brands available but they are all out there buying foreign brands, comparing prices and spending their money on products that look remarkably similar to the ones we buy in supermarkets and retail shops throughout the world.

2. Chinese companies are very open to new ways of doing things.
Even state-owned enterprises appear to be embracing new ideas and business concepts which have worked in other parts of the world, adapting them to suit the local conditions. I was impressed by how open, warm and interested our hosts were in the new ideas presented to them, and how willing they were to share information, market knowledge and ideas.

3. Everything is changing very quickly and it’s dangerous to make too many assumptions from a distance.
You must be on the ground in China, talking to people and kicking the tyres, to understand how quickly things are changing and how local players are moving the market and increasing the barriers to entry for future aspirants. Whenever you think you really understand something, you find an exception to the rule, a local who has found a way to do something that was previously considered impossible, or the market has moved to a new place.

A good example of this is the huge development of the online channel, which is changing the face of the retail market. In densely populated cities, where leisure time is scarce and quality of life poor, shoppers find themselves spending more time online than might be expected in other countries.

4. China is spending billions to export its culture, information and news to the rest of the world.
The ‘going out’ strategy announced last year to increase Chinese investment, business, exports and trade in other countries is an irresistible force which goes far beyond the investment in Australian resource companies. We will see Chinese entrepreneurs and businesses taking strategic stakes in all kinds of innovative and dynamic foreign businesses and increase their global influence in all sorts of ways.

But, just as importantly, and running in parallel with this movement, is the massive commitment to distributing Chinese culture, information and news to the rest of the world to:

• reach out to the Chinese diaspora around the world, re-connect them to the motherland, introduce them to old and new Chinese culture and provide them with access to Chinese news and information free of foreign influence and control;
• encourage foreigners to explore China’s deep, rich and unique history and culture in their own way, promote tourism, remove fear and misunderstandings, and present a new image of a country which is making a positive contribution to the development of the human race; and
• distribute Chinese news, information and current affairs to the rest of the world in a way that makes sense to the Chinese Government and is free of foreign influence, interpretation and bias.

5. Aspirational consumers are on the rise.
The hot issue in China today is the aspiration that everyone has to improve their own life, to seek a better work/life balance, live a more healthy life and to seek self-enrichment through learning, education, children, leisure time, hobbies, regular exercise, healthy food and a cleaner environment.

This is a driving force, not only because of China’s poor but developing public health system, but because of the fast growing middle classes that have more money, more time and more incentive to live a long and happy life.

Conclusion: I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again, every Australian company must have a China strategy!

Related posts:

1. Revalued Chinese currency could hurt USA Economists that have long criticised China’s fixed currency for offering...
2. Changing our thinking on climate change I can’t help thinking that we’re all getting it wrong...
3. China may face protectionism Cheap Chinese exports stemming from the Chinese government’s stimulus measures...