Second Quarter 2024 – The outsized influence of South Korea’s large family-run conglomerates in daily life was driven home at the ballpark.

Second Quarter 2024 – A new national initiative in South Korea aims to improve the capital efficiency of listed corporates and bring about better treatment of minority shareholders.

Fourth Quarter 2023 – Pharmacies in Brazil are becoming service hubs and occupying a more prominent role in the healthcare industry.

Fourth Quarter 2023 – The accelerating pace of infrastructure projects in India is fueling hopes for the country’s future.

First Quarter 2023 – A national digital payments platform in India is changing how individuals and merchants transact.

First Quarter 2023 – Dubai is ascending as a global financial center as policies attract foreign capital and companies demonstrate improved corporate governance.

Fourth Quarter 2022 – One reason for Mexico’s slow economic growth is that companies are underinvesting, largely in response to the country’s current political environment.

Fourth Quarter 2019 – The small Malaysian state of Penang has a skilled workforce, reliable infrastructure, and a long history in the global technology supply chain. One thing that many Penang-based contract manufacturers don’t have is customer diversification.

Fourth Quarter 2019 – Beijing’s technology companies are focused on smart city initiatives, big data, and artificial intelligence.

Third Quarter 2019 – Hazardous air pollution in Delhi exposes the politics of India’s environmental ambitions.

Second Quarter 2019 – The Thai military government’s crackdown on street food vendors in Bangkok leaves a sour taste to some.

First Quarter 2019 – Facing a competitive domestic market, nimble Korean companies find growth overseas.

Fourth Quarter 2018 – After a dark past, Georgia is embracing transparency. It is noticeable in corporate governance structures, as well as Tbilisi’s skyline.

Fourth Quarter 2018 – Mexico’s financial markets are developing slowly, with equity listings and retail brokerage activity at low levels.

São Paulo

Fourth Quarter 2018 – Corporate governance improvements in Brazil include a continued reduction in the number of share classes outstanding.

Cape Town

Second Quarter 2018 – Until South Africa’s structural problems such as corruption and unemployment are addressed, private sector investment, and especially foreign investment, will likely wait on the sidelines.

Manila

Second Quarter 2018 – An ambitious infrastructure spending program is underway in the Philippines. While sorely needed, its implementation may have unintended side effects.

Bangkok

Fourth Quarter 2017 – Despite continued military rule in Thailand, a handful of Thai companies stand out with growth strategies linked to development projects on the eastern seaboard and overseas expansion.

Beijing

First Quarter 2018 – Technological innovation is transforming companies in China, ranging from banks to manufacturers – but market concentration within certain online ecosystems may result in anti-competitive practices.

Hyderabad

Fourth Quarter 2017 – The verdict remains out as to whether recent initiatives in India, such as the note ban and the Goods and Services Tax, will constitute significant steps forward in the country’s quest to become a modern and globally competitive industrial economy.

Singapore

Fourth Quarter 2017 – A recent trip to Singapore revealed several companies as paragons of how to respond to a revenue and profit recession.

Santiago

Third Quarter 2017 – Although Chile’s consumer protection regulations have created headaches for domestic industries, companies are adapting and looking abroad for growth opportunities.

Jakarta

Second Quarter 2017 – While social and religious tensions continue to run high in Indonesia, the country is making necessary investments in prudently financed infrastructure projects.

São Paulo

Second Quarter 2017 – Even under the challenging business environment in Brazil, some local companies have executed their business plans consistently with their long-term strategic views.

Mexico City

First Quarter 2017 – Mexican companies take a measured approach to the Trump administration.

Warsaw

Fourth Quarter 2016 – Poland’s private sector companies are overcoming the challenges that government policy changes have placed on the domestic economy.

Dubai

Fourth Quarter 2016 – Despite humble origins, firms in the United Arab Emirates are now benefiting from sophisticated management teams.

Beijing

Third Quarter 2016 – Challenges facing corporate management teams in China and Hong Kong reveal the irrelevance of macroeconomic figures for investors in the country’s firms.

Manila

Second Quarter 2016 – Infrastructure is currently a bottleneck for economic growth in the Philippines.

Moscow

Fourth Quarter 2015 – Despite a serious financial crisis, a number of Russian companies are planning and investing with a long-term horizon in mind.

Abu Dhabi & Dubai

Fourth Quarter 2015 – While the UAE financial markets are young and have only recently begun to open to foreign investors in earnest, the region is an emerging hub for logistics and services.

Istanbul

Third Quarter 2015 – While Istanbul displays many of the hallmarks of an emerging market mega-city, political strife and security threats put the city’s otherwise vibrant economy at risk.

Second Quarter 2015 – New regulatory changes could lessen the challenges associated with investing in Vietnam and, if executed well, could have positive and lasting effects on the functioning of its capital markets.

Second Quarter 2015 – An impressive number of Japanese companies are looking to the emerging markets for acquisitions and expansion opportunities.

First Quarter 2015 – The change in Indian cities is visible and is accelerated by the fact that marginal development in one city has a positive influence on other cities.

Mumbai

First Quarter 2015 – Andrew Foster was moved – literally – to write about a recent trip to Mumbai. What he learned portends well for the future of India.

Hong Kong

Fourth Quarter 2014 – Paul Espinosa reflects on the Hong Kong student protests: the reality on the ground, the views of Hong Kong residents, and what it means within the Chinese context.

Chengdu

Second Quarter 2014 – Chengdu’s cityscape reflects its rising economic and political clout – but the city also holds a number of deeply troubled commercial property projects, mirroring broader problems across China.

Cape Town

First Quarter 2014 – Cape Town is home to many of South Africa’s service sector industries. Some of the best companies may yet be able to capitalize on the African continent’s growth prospects.

Johannesburg

First Quarter 2014 – South Africa bears scars from apartheid, and corruption adds to its woes. Yet the country may claim a brighter future, if it stamps out graft and takes advantage of economic opportunities across Africa.

Mexico City

First Quarter 2014 – Mexico is moving forward with long overdue reforms in multiple sectors; we believe the deeply ingrained bureaucracy of some Mexican institutions may begin to erode.

Seoul

First Quarter 2014 – South Korea is at a crossroads; much change is afoot, and not just in the way the street signs read.

Mumbai

Fourth Quarter 2013 – While India still faces deep structural problems, I am encouraged to see that the country is swiftly dismantling the controls that impede the foreign flow of capital.

Istanbul

Second Quarter 2013 – My visit to Istanbul was only three blocks and three weeks apart from the chaos that engulfed Taksim Square.

São Paulo & Rio de Janeiro

Second Quarter 2013 – The protests that unfolded across Brazil just weeks after my visit were not a complete surprise to me, given the high levels of frustration expressed to me by Brazilians.

Lima

Second Quarter 2013 – Peru has charted a stable macroeconomic course and it possesses a decent number of well-run companies, but valuations remain steep.

Warsaw

Second Quarter 2013 – Poland’s difficult past may influence how quickly the country extricates itself from its current economic slump.

Hanoi & Ho Chi Minh City

First Quarter 2013 – Vietnam stands out as the place where the most change occurs in the least amount of time. A new plan to clean up the banking sector there holds some promise.

Tokyo

First Quarter 2013 – A tough call: there are several reasons to be positive about Japan; yet the new policies designed to end crippling deflation are risky, and leave little room for error.

Taipei

Fourth Quarter 2012 – For investors focused on overseas markets, Taiwan is something of a conundrum: should the country be classified as an “emerging market” or a “developed” one?

Hanoi & Ho Chi Minh City

Fourth Quarter 2012 – For all the doubt that looms over Vietnam, I find every trip there to be a refreshing study in change, growth and progress.

Kuala Lumpur

Third Quarter 2012 – Malaysia is determined to surge forward in its economic development, but the transformation may take longer than planned.

Bangkok

Third Quarter 2012 – We returned from a trip to Bangkok with new respect for Thai corporate strategy and governance.

Singapore

Third Quarter 2012 – While Singapore remains a modern, efficient city-state, it is struggling with new challenges, including income disparity.

Seoul

Third Quarter 2012 – We observed firsthand the contradictions that plague South Korea’s very modern economy.

São Paulo & Rio

Third Quarter 2012 – The past 15 months have been tough on Brazil, at least from an economic and financial perspective. Economic growth has decelerated sharply.

Santiago

Third Quarter 2012 – Despite Chile’s small size – its population is only 17.5 million – it may be poised to grow faster than many of its regional peers.

Istanbul

Second Quarter 2012 – My trip to Istanbul revealed that the Turkish economy is poised, somewhat precariously, between growth and contraction.

Warsaw

Second Quarter 2012 – Warsaw presented notable contradictions. The city is clearly a polished European capital; and yet it is also undergoing basic reforms, investment, and development.

Mexico City

Second Quarter 2012 – Economic activity was evident in Mexico City. There were help wanted signs throughout the city; factories were busy; and cranes dotted the landscape.