“All emerging markets have their own specific issues that make them all unique, however they are commonly bound by several similarities as well,” comments Devonshire-Ellis. “Typically these are relatively high GDP growth rates, inexpensive labor, and a government in place that is relaxing foreign investment laws and is pro-business. However, these trends can also lead to bumps along the way, such as inflation and periods of transition that can make the business environment difficult at times to properly navigate as the rate of development of commerce in emerging markets often outstrips the legal and regulatory environment to effectively support it. From this perspective, emerging markets are similar. The main differences are cultural, and these can often be overcome through competent local hires.”

“There are two main issues, one being the introduction of an entirely new government in China as the current generation are retiring. I don’t expect any problems or immediate impact as a result of this, but the new incumbents will slowly want to introduce their own polices and ideas, and they will spearhead the way forward for China for the next decade. The immediate business issue is the potential impact of China’s aging population, which is already starting to affect the cost of labor and mandatory welfare payments that employers must now meet. These are increasing rapidly and a lack of national coordination over this issue has made, and will make, it difficult to project the cost of labor in China over the next twelve months.”

“Other emerging countries tend not to have the need for Chinese labor, so it’s not much of an incentive for them to invest in China to take advantage of cheap labor overheads. The main reason to invest in China today is the emergence of a large and relatively wealthy middle class. In this respect China has a middle class of about 250 million, of which about 70 million can be measured in the same terms as middle class income in developed countries. This means that examining China’s demographics is important; for example we know the population is aging, so products related to an older population will be in demand, items such as healthcare and so on. China has also stated it wants to see 50 percent of its population in tertiary education by 2030, so again, there are opportunities for educational services and IT. Its not just a question of having an existing product and seeing if it will sell in China, it’s a matter of examining what China needs. If you get that right, investors can do very well there.”

“India in many respects is the same as China, a huge population and a middle class of about 250 million. But India’s population is far younger, the workforce demographic will work in India’s favor for the next two decades, meaning you have a cheap labor force and an emerging wealthy middle class. India is also noted for its poor infrastructure, but that also is an opportunity. Businesses involved in construction or anything related to that should be examining what India intends to build and start looking at contracts. India is good both for cheap manufacturing labor, domestic infrastructure projects, export manufacturing and domestic demand right now. In fact, the opportunities for investment in India are greater at present than in China.”