China's economy slowed dramatically at the end of 2008 as the full force of the global crisis hit home, dragging growth to a seven-year low, official data showed Thursday.
The world's third-largest economy expanded by just 6.8 percent in the final quarter, pulling the full-year growth figure down to 9.0 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics said.
Coming after 13.0 percent growth in 2007, the figures offered the most complete picture yet of just how severely the world crisis has hit China's export-dependent economy.
"The international financial crisis is deepening and spreading with a continuing negative impact on the domestic economy," Ma Jiantang, the head of the National Bureau of Statistics, told reporters in Beijing.
China's exports fell 2.2 percent in November, the first such drop in seven years, and the trend was extended into a second month with a 2.8 percent decline in December, according to previous data from customs.
"China's economy suffered a hard landing in the fourth quarter," said Lu Zhengwei, a Shanghai-based economist with China's Industrial Bank. It will be extremely difficult for the economy to grow this year by 8.0 percent, a figure the government has long targetted as its benchmark rate, he added.
In another sign of the precipitous decline of activity, the consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation, slowed to 1.2 percent in the December, the statistics bureau said.
China started out 2008 concerned that rising prices would be a major challenge -- inflation was at nearly a 12-year high of 8.7 percent in February -- but ended the year fearing deflation instead.
"Deflation is very likely in 2009. Deflation is not unusual... but this time it is coming so abruptly that it will have a more significant impact on the economy," said Hu Yuexiao, an economist with Shanghai Securities.
Industrial output, another indicator of foreign trade, expanded by 12.9 percent in 2008, down from 18.5 percent growth in 2007, the bureau said.
Earlier this week, Premier Wen Jiabao warned that 2009 would be "the most difficult year for China's economic development so far this century."
From the Chinese government's perspective, the most worrying aspect is the impact on employment and the subsequent potential for social unrest if millions of people lose their jobs.
Especially hard-hit are migrant workers who have left their rural homes for jobs in the big cities and now find factory gates shut all along the formerly bustling east coast.
Thousands of factories that exported to the United States and elsewhere have already closed, and many more are expected to fold in the next few months.
So far, six million migrants have lost their jobs because of the crisis, data announced by the statistics bureau Thursday showed.
China unveiled a four-trillion-yuan (580-billion-dollar) stimulus package in November to get the economy going.
"How much China can recover from the economic downturn depends on the effectiveness of government stimulus packages and expansionary fiscal policies," said Lu of the Industrial Bank.
While some of the package consisted of items that had already been announced, economists said it was significant in signalling to society a willingness to spend big money to escape the worst effects of the crisis.
Partly reflecting this, China's fixed asset investments, the main measure of public spending on infrastructure and productive capacity, rose 25.5 percent in 2008, according to the bureau.
This compared with 2007 growth in investments in fixed assets of 24.8 percent, suggesting that China's government had deep enough pockets to keep this part of the economy going at a brisk pace.
Dec 22, 2008
Mauritania Business Opportunities
Country Background
Independent from France in 1960, Mauritania annexed the southern third of the former Spanish Sahara (now Western Sahara) in 1976, but relinquished it after three years of raids by the Polisario guerrilla front seeking independence for the territory. Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA seized power in a coup in 1984 and ruled Mauritania with a heavy hand for over two decades. A bloodless coup in August 2005 deposed President TAYA and ushered in a military council that oversaw a transition to democratic rule. Independent candidate Sidi Ould Cheikh ABDALLAHI was inaugurated in April 2007 as Mauritania's first freely and fairly elected president. His term ended prematurely in August 2008 when a coup deposed him and ushered in a military council government.
People
More than 70 percent of the people are Moors, or of mixed Arab and Berber descent. The remainder are of mixed Arabic or black African descent. There are also small communities of Europeans. Many of the Moors are seminomads who live in tents and range in seasonal patterns over vast areas in search of water and forage for their livestock.
The total Population was is estimated in 3,364,940 (aprox.)
Economy
The Mauritania Economy and Business depend a lot on agriculture and mining. Iron ore is one of the main natural resources of Mauritania. The Mauritania Economy and Business runs heavily on the export of iron ore. With the recent hike in metal prices, a number of copper and gold mining companies are opening up in the interior of Mauritania. The fish processing is one of the other sectors that draw money for the Government of Mauritania. A big number of laborers in Mauritania are engaged in the construction work. While a few are engaged in road construction, others are engaged in port construction. Most of the construction projects are financed by foreign companies. The two prime industries recorded in the manufacturing sector include a steel mill and an oil refinery. A fair number of small enterprises opened up by 1986 in Mauritania. A few of them include a manufacturer of perfume, cement bagging company, company dealing in blanket fabrication. In Nouakchott, a sugar mill was built by the Americans. It dealt in the packaging of the imported refined sugar.
Doing Business in Mauritania
Mauritania is an excellent place for starting a profitable business venture. The investor interested in doing business in Mauritania may look at the substantial mineral deposits of copper, gypsum and iron ore. Considerable quantity of gold is also found. The list of Mauritanian business also includes ventures relating to the fishing industry. Commercially saleable fossil fuel is also discovered along the Mauritanian coastal waters. The biggest foreign exchange earner of the African nation is its mining industry. Iron ore contribute to a large portion of Mauritania's exports. The fish industry also makes a viable business proposition in Mauritania. There are a number of downstream industries like plastics, chemicals, fish processing, gypsum and building materials. The investor friendly policies pursued by the government of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania have helped in attracting much needed foreign investments into the West African country. Many government companies have been privatized. Free market economic moves are actively encouraged. More than 90% of the total investment into the Mauritanian economy came from foreign investments to the country.
The leading imports are machinery and equipment, petroleum products, capital and consumer goods, and food. The principal trade partners are France, Belgium, Japan, and Spain. Mauritania has a large foreign debt.
Sep 25, 2008
BUSINESS IN ANGOLA
As an international marketing consultant let me show you more about Angola, a country that has interesting business opportunities
Angola Exported in 2007 (estimated), $44.32 billion. Consisting of crude oil, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, coffee, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton. Angola major markets are U.S. (38.1%), China (34.2%), Taiwan (5.8%), France (4.9%), Chile (4.1%).
Angola Imported in 2007 (estimated) $12.29 billion: consisting in machinery and electrical equipment, vehicles and spare parts, medicines, food, textiles, military goods. Angolan major sources are U.S. (15.3%), Portugal (15%), South Korea (10.1%), China (8.8%), Brazil (8.2%), South Africa (6.7%), France (6.2%).
Angola is the third-largest trading partner of the United States in sub-Saharan Africa, largely because of its petroleum exports. U.S. exports to Angola primarily consist of industrial goods and services--such as oilfield equipment, mining equipment, chemicals, aircraft, and food. On December 30, 2003, President Bush approved the designation of Angola as eligible for tariff preferences under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
Angola has a fast-growing economy largely due to a major oil boom, but it also ranks in the bottom 10% of most socioeconomic indicators. The country's real GDP growth rate was estimated at 21.1% for 2007. Angola is recovering from 27 years of nearly continuous warfare, and it remains beset by corruption and economic mismanagement. Despite abundant natural resources, and rising per capita GDP, it was ranked 161 out of 177 countries on the 2006 UN Development Program's (UNDP) Human Development Index. Subsistence agriculture sustains one-third of the population.
The rapidly expanding petroleum industry has reached its Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cap, producing approximately 2 million barrels per day (bpd). Angola's crude oil production is one of the highest in Africa, behind only Nigeria. Crude oil accounts for 51.7% of GNP, 95% of exports, and 80% of government revenues. Angola also produces 40,000 bpd of locally refined oil. Oil production remains largely offshore and has few linkages with other sectors of the economy, though a local content initiative promulgated by the Angolan Government is pressuring oil companies to source from local businesses.
Block 15, located offshore of Soyo, currently provides 30% of Angola's crude oil production. ExxonMobil, through its subsidiary Esso, is the operator with a 40% share.
TotalFinaElf brought the first Kwanza Basin deepwater blocks on-line with production from its Block 17 concession that began in February 2002. Inauguration of the Dalia oilfield in December 2006 combined with the Girassol field already in operation brought Block 17's total production to approximately 500,000 bpd as of July 2007. Total expects to begin drilling in new oilfield
Pazflor in 2009, bringing production to a peak 700,000 bpd by 2011. Exploration is ongoing in ultra-deep water concessions and in deepwater and shallow concessions in the Namibe Basin. BP made the first significant ultra-deepwater find in its Block 31 concession in 2002 and had reached nine significant discoveries by the end of 2005. BP expected to ship its first crude from the Plutonio oilfield in Block 18 in September 2007 and expects Plutonio to average 200,000 bpd in full production. Marathon also drilled a successful well in its Block 32 ultra-deep water concession.
Diamonds make up most of Angola's remaining exports, with yearly production at 6 million carats. Diamond sales reached approximately $1.1 billion in 2006. Despite increased corporate ownership of diamond fields, much production is currently in the hands of small-scale prospectors, often operating illegally. Only eight large-scale mines are operating out of a total of 145 concessions.
The government has established an export certification scheme consistent with the "Kimberley Process" to identify legitimate production and sales. Other mineral resources, including gold, remain largely undeveloped, though granite and marble quarrying have begun.
In the last decade of the colonial period, Angola was a major African agricultural exporter. Because of severe wartime conditions, including extensive laying of landmines throughout the countryside, agricultural activities came to a near standstill, and the country now imports over half of its food. Small-scale agricultural production has increased several-fold over the last 5 years due to demining efforts, infrastructure improvements, and the ability of returnees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) to safely return to agricultural areas, yet production of most crops remains below 1974 levels. Some efforts at commercial agricultural recovery have gone forward, notably in fisheries and tropical fruits, but most of the country's vast potential remains untapped. Recently passed land reform laws will attempt to reconcile overlapping traditional land use rights, colonial-era land claims, and recent land grants to facilitate significant commercial agricultural development.
An economic reform effort launched in 1998 was only marginally successful in addressing persistent fiscal mismanagement and corruption. In April 2000, Angola started an International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-monitored program (SMP). The program lapsed in June 2001 over IMF concerns about lack of progress by Angola. Under the program, the Government of Angola did succeed in unifying exchange rates and moving fuel, electricity, and water prices closer to market rates. In March 2007, the government announced it was not interested in a formally-structured IMF program, but would continue to participate in Article IV consultations and other technical assistance on an ad hoc basis.
In December 2002, President dos Santos named a new economic team to oversee homegrown reform efforts. The new team succeeded in decreasing overall government spending, rationalizing the Kwanza exchange rate, closing regulatory loopholes allowing off-budget expenditures, and capturing all revenues in the state budget. New procedures were implemented to track the flow of funds between the Treasury, Banco Nacional de Angola (the central bank), and the state-owned Banco de Poupanca e Credito, which operates the budget.
The Angolan Government adopted a new investment code. Concerns remain about quasi-fiscal operations by the state oil company Sonangol, continued oil-backed commercial borrowing by the Angolan Government, and inadequate transparency and oversight in the management of public accounts. The Angolan commercial code, financial sector law, and telecommunications law all require substantial revision.
Angola Exported in 2007 (estimated), $44.32 billion. Consisting of crude oil, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, coffee, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton. Angola major markets are U.S. (38.1%), China (34.2%), Taiwan (5.8%), France (4.9%), Chile (4.1%).
Angola Imported in 2007 (estimated) $12.29 billion: consisting in machinery and electrical equipment, vehicles and spare parts, medicines, food, textiles, military goods. Angolan major sources are U.S. (15.3%), Portugal (15%), South Korea (10.1%), China (8.8%), Brazil (8.2%), South Africa (6.7%), France (6.2%).
Angola is the third-largest trading partner of the United States in sub-Saharan Africa, largely because of its petroleum exports. U.S. exports to Angola primarily consist of industrial goods and services--such as oilfield equipment, mining equipment, chemicals, aircraft, and food. On December 30, 2003, President Bush approved the designation of Angola as eligible for tariff preferences under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
Angola has a fast-growing economy largely due to a major oil boom, but it also ranks in the bottom 10% of most socioeconomic indicators. The country's real GDP growth rate was estimated at 21.1% for 2007. Angola is recovering from 27 years of nearly continuous warfare, and it remains beset by corruption and economic mismanagement. Despite abundant natural resources, and rising per capita GDP, it was ranked 161 out of 177 countries on the 2006 UN Development Program's (UNDP) Human Development Index. Subsistence agriculture sustains one-third of the population.
The rapidly expanding petroleum industry has reached its Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cap, producing approximately 2 million barrels per day (bpd). Angola's crude oil production is one of the highest in Africa, behind only Nigeria. Crude oil accounts for 51.7% of GNP, 95% of exports, and 80% of government revenues. Angola also produces 40,000 bpd of locally refined oil. Oil production remains largely offshore and has few linkages with other sectors of the economy, though a local content initiative promulgated by the Angolan Government is pressuring oil companies to source from local businesses.
Block 15, located offshore of Soyo, currently provides 30% of Angola's crude oil production. ExxonMobil, through its subsidiary Esso, is the operator with a 40% share.
TotalFinaElf brought the first Kwanza Basin deepwater blocks on-line with production from its Block 17 concession that began in February 2002. Inauguration of the Dalia oilfield in December 2006 combined with the Girassol field already in operation brought Block 17's total production to approximately 500,000 bpd as of July 2007. Total expects to begin drilling in new oilfield
Pazflor in 2009, bringing production to a peak 700,000 bpd by 2011. Exploration is ongoing in ultra-deep water concessions and in deepwater and shallow concessions in the Namibe Basin. BP made the first significant ultra-deepwater find in its Block 31 concession in 2002 and had reached nine significant discoveries by the end of 2005. BP expected to ship its first crude from the Plutonio oilfield in Block 18 in September 2007 and expects Plutonio to average 200,000 bpd in full production. Marathon also drilled a successful well in its Block 32 ultra-deep water concession.
Diamonds make up most of Angola's remaining exports, with yearly production at 6 million carats. Diamond sales reached approximately $1.1 billion in 2006. Despite increased corporate ownership of diamond fields, much production is currently in the hands of small-scale prospectors, often operating illegally. Only eight large-scale mines are operating out of a total of 145 concessions.
The government has established an export certification scheme consistent with the "Kimberley Process" to identify legitimate production and sales. Other mineral resources, including gold, remain largely undeveloped, though granite and marble quarrying have begun.
In the last decade of the colonial period, Angola was a major African agricultural exporter. Because of severe wartime conditions, including extensive laying of landmines throughout the countryside, agricultural activities came to a near standstill, and the country now imports over half of its food. Small-scale agricultural production has increased several-fold over the last 5 years due to demining efforts, infrastructure improvements, and the ability of returnees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) to safely return to agricultural areas, yet production of most crops remains below 1974 levels. Some efforts at commercial agricultural recovery have gone forward, notably in fisheries and tropical fruits, but most of the country's vast potential remains untapped. Recently passed land reform laws will attempt to reconcile overlapping traditional land use rights, colonial-era land claims, and recent land grants to facilitate significant commercial agricultural development.
An economic reform effort launched in 1998 was only marginally successful in addressing persistent fiscal mismanagement and corruption. In April 2000, Angola started an International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-monitored program (SMP). The program lapsed in June 2001 over IMF concerns about lack of progress by Angola. Under the program, the Government of Angola did succeed in unifying exchange rates and moving fuel, electricity, and water prices closer to market rates. In March 2007, the government announced it was not interested in a formally-structured IMF program, but would continue to participate in Article IV consultations and other technical assistance on an ad hoc basis.
In December 2002, President dos Santos named a new economic team to oversee homegrown reform efforts. The new team succeeded in decreasing overall government spending, rationalizing the Kwanza exchange rate, closing regulatory loopholes allowing off-budget expenditures, and capturing all revenues in the state budget. New procedures were implemented to track the flow of funds between the Treasury, Banco Nacional de Angola (the central bank), and the state-owned Banco de Poupanca e Credito, which operates the budget.
The Angolan Government adopted a new investment code. Concerns remain about quasi-fiscal operations by the state oil company Sonangol, continued oil-backed commercial borrowing by the Angolan Government, and inadequate transparency and oversight in the management of public accounts. The Angolan commercial code, financial sector law, and telecommunications law all require substantial revision.
Sep 1, 2008
Causes of the Global Crisis
In my opinion, the first global crisis of the 21st Century is a combination of 3 different crisis:
1. Petrol Crisis: petrol is one of the biggest causes of the global crisis. Petrol is needed in various industries and of course our main transport systems use petrol. Petrol started increasing when the US invaded Irak, then several problems in Nigeria, Mauritania, Venezuela, etc. Prices of West Texas and Brent ( US and Europe petrol references) have doubled the price in 1 year
2. Food Crisis: one of the solutions for the petrol crisis and to avoid buying it to the OPEC, was the Biofuel, that can be broadly defined as solid, liquid, or gas fuel derived from recently dead biological material. There are two common strategies of producing biofuels. One is to grow crops high in sugar (sugar cane, sugar beet, and sweet sorghum) or starch (corn/maize), and then use yeast fermentation to produce ethyl alcohol (ethanol). The second is to grow plants that contain high amounts of vegetable oil, such as oil palm, soybean, algae, or jatropha. Due to this use of products, prices of food in general have been increased, specially rice, corn and sugarcane
3 Finance Crisis: an economic problem characterized by contracted liquidity in the global credit markets and banking system. An undervaluation of real risk in the subprime market ultimately resulted in cascades and ripple effects affecting the world economy generally. The crisis began with the bursting of the US housing bubble and high default rates on "subprime" and adjustable rate mortgages (ARM). Loan incentives, such as easy initial terms, in conjunction with an acceleration in rising housing prices encouraged borrowers to assume difficult mortgages on the belief they would be able to quickly refinance at more favorable terms. However, once housing prices started to drop moderately in 2006–2007 in many parts of the U.S., refinancing became more difficult. Defaults and foreclosure activity increased dramatically, as easy initial terms expired, home prices failed to go up as anticipated, and ARM interest rates reset higher. Foreclosures accelerated in the United States in late 2006 and triggered a global financial crisis through 2007 and 2008. During 2007, nearly 1.3 million U.S. housing properties were subject to foreclosure activity, up 79% from 2006. This phenomenom have affected whole world, especially Europe, where people cannote face their morgages, where banks need speciall finance fron the European Central Banks and where many Real State and Construction companies have closed down due to they gave credits and morgage to NINJA's (NO INCOME N, NO JOBE AND NO ASSETS) people.
The first twoo crisis above (petrol and food) has the consequence of decreasing the money value due to inflation and salaries remaining the same, or even increasing unmeployment.
The third crisis ( finance) have caused increase of the interest rate, many banks bankrumpcy and many construction and real state companies bankrumpcy
evryone is saying that the crisis will last at least till 2010, so if you don't mind let me give you 3 advices to bear this global crisis:
1. Be optimistic: it will help you to reach new aims
2. Don't spend more than necesary: avoid spending money in unnecesary things
3. Reduce expenses: be carefull with water and electric consumtion and of course with petrol and food.
Regards,
Navin Khemlani
Intema Solutions
1. Petrol Crisis: petrol is one of the biggest causes of the global crisis. Petrol is needed in various industries and of course our main transport systems use petrol. Petrol started increasing when the US invaded Irak, then several problems in Nigeria, Mauritania, Venezuela, etc. Prices of West Texas and Brent ( US and Europe petrol references) have doubled the price in 1 year
2. Food Crisis: one of the solutions for the petrol crisis and to avoid buying it to the OPEC, was the Biofuel, that can be broadly defined as solid, liquid, or gas fuel derived from recently dead biological material. There are two common strategies of producing biofuels. One is to grow crops high in sugar (sugar cane, sugar beet, and sweet sorghum) or starch (corn/maize), and then use yeast fermentation to produce ethyl alcohol (ethanol). The second is to grow plants that contain high amounts of vegetable oil, such as oil palm, soybean, algae, or jatropha. Due to this use of products, prices of food in general have been increased, specially rice, corn and sugarcane
3 Finance Crisis: an economic problem characterized by contracted liquidity in the global credit markets and banking system. An undervaluation of real risk in the subprime market ultimately resulted in cascades and ripple effects affecting the world economy generally. The crisis began with the bursting of the US housing bubble and high default rates on "subprime" and adjustable rate mortgages (ARM). Loan incentives, such as easy initial terms, in conjunction with an acceleration in rising housing prices encouraged borrowers to assume difficult mortgages on the belief they would be able to quickly refinance at more favorable terms. However, once housing prices started to drop moderately in 2006–2007 in many parts of the U.S., refinancing became more difficult. Defaults and foreclosure activity increased dramatically, as easy initial terms expired, home prices failed to go up as anticipated, and ARM interest rates reset higher. Foreclosures accelerated in the United States in late 2006 and triggered a global financial crisis through 2007 and 2008. During 2007, nearly 1.3 million U.S. housing properties were subject to foreclosure activity, up 79% from 2006. This phenomenom have affected whole world, especially Europe, where people cannote face their morgages, where banks need speciall finance fron the European Central Banks and where many Real State and Construction companies have closed down due to they gave credits and morgage to NINJA's (NO INCOME N, NO JOBE AND NO ASSETS) people.
The first twoo crisis above (petrol and food) has the consequence of decreasing the money value due to inflation and salaries remaining the same, or even increasing unmeployment.
The third crisis ( finance) have caused increase of the interest rate, many banks bankrumpcy and many construction and real state companies bankrumpcy
evryone is saying that the crisis will last at least till 2010, so if you don't mind let me give you 3 advices to bear this global crisis:
1. Be optimistic: it will help you to reach new aims
2. Don't spend more than necesary: avoid spending money in unnecesary things
3. Reduce expenses: be carefull with water and electric consumtion and of course with petrol and food.
Regards,
Navin Khemlani
Intema Solutions
What is International Marketing?
International marketing is simply the application of marketing principles to more than one country। Many American and European authors see international marketing as a simple extension of exporting, whereby the marketing mix is simply adapted in some way to take into account differences in consumers and segments। It then follows that global marketing takes a more standardised approach to world markets and focuses upon sameness, in other words the similarities in consumers and segments। So let's take a look at some generally accepted definitions:
At its simplest level, international marketing involves the firm in making one or more marketing mix decisions across national boundaries. At its most complex level, it involves the firm in establishing manufacturing facilities overseas and coordinating marketing strategies across the globe. Doole and Lowe (2001).
International Marketing is the performance of business activities that direct the flow of a company's goods and services to consumers or users in more than one nation for a profit. Cateora and Ghauri (1999)
So, as with many other elements of marketing, there is no single definition of international marketing, and there could be some confusion about where international marketing begins and global marketing ends. These lessons will assume that both terms are interchangeable, and will define international marketing as follows:
International marketing is simply the application of marketing principles to more than one country.
At its simplest level, international marketing involves the firm in making one or more marketing mix decisions across national boundaries. At its most complex level, it involves the firm in establishing manufacturing facilities overseas and coordinating marketing strategies across the globe. Doole and Lowe (2001).
International Marketing is the performance of business activities that direct the flow of a company's goods and services to consumers or users in more than one nation for a profit. Cateora and Ghauri (1999)
So, as with many other elements of marketing, there is no single definition of international marketing, and there could be some confusion about where international marketing begins and global marketing ends. These lessons will assume that both terms are interchangeable, and will define international marketing as follows:
International marketing is simply the application of marketing principles to more than one country.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)