International Update

A president is chosen. World markets hold their breath, waiting to see what policies he will adopt that will have an impact not only domestically but in every corner of the world. It’s big news — and it’s not Barack Obama.

Pick your mode of transport. By any measure, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) is Germany’s most connected federal state — to the rest of Germany, to Europe and to the world.

Ernst & Young’s 2012 attractiveness survey found that Germany is the sixth most attractive country in the entire world for investment, and the first by far in Europe. Just as attractive is its global reputation for industrial ingenuity, from top-shelf automotive and high-tech machinery manufacturing to the latest techniques in tracking the carbon footprint of that activity.

In the past decade, Latin America has appeared more visibly on the radar screens of many companies considering expansions of their global footprints. More of these companies today are deciding to set up manufacturing facilities, distribution centers or services operations in the market.

Since the end of apartheid, South Africa is a county that believes in the future, and increasingly, international business shares this optimism. But what does the future look like?

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is one of Asia’s final frontier markets and investment destinations.

The Volkswagen Group is expanding its ecological and social commitment in Brazil as its growth trajectory there gains altitude. “The Brazilian automobile market has significant growth potential.

In 2014, voters will be asked whether the region should remain part of the United Kingdom or go it alone.

China economy and society are rapidly changing, requiring Western businesses to adapt.

Canada’s largest financial center is climbing global rankings thanks in part to a unique and healthy dialogue between regulators and the regulated.

Since 2000, China’s GDP grew from just under US$1.2 trillion to just under $7.3 trillion in 2011. In the process it has become the EU’s second largest trading partner (from US$ 100 billion to US$600 billion in trade between 2001 and 2011). No wonder the “Cities of Opportunity” study released earlier this month by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and the Partnership for New York City found Beijing and Shanghai rising to top-five status among global leading cities in the categories of economic clout and city gateway.

Now that the last medal has been awarded, the crowds have gone home and the stadium lights have been extinguished, what will determine if the 2012 London Olympics were truly a success will be the legacy the Games leave behind for the U.K. According to market intelligence firm Euromonitor, an estimated £25 billion (US$39 billion) was spent preparing London for the Games, including stadium construction, regeneration, infrastructure projects and marketing — is this money well spent?

Known for the exploits of Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great, among others, the capital city of Tatarstan now aims to make a name for itself as an international business hub. But first you have to find it on the map.

KONE, a Finnish maker of escalators and elevators is flowing people in various directions in the Quad Cities municipality of Moline, Ill., where the company and its partners in August celebrated the grand opening of the nearly $40-million KONE Centre on the Mississippi River waterfront.

The introduction of the mobile phone may have done more than any other single technical innovation to improve prosperity, business and innovation in Africa.

The most recent edition of the Americas IT Forum took place in Guatemala, bringing together thought leaders and innovators from different fields and countries across North and South America. The discussion ranged from technological issues and marketing trends affecting business on all levels to innovation and technology-led economic development. A novel concept in intertwined topics and in blending together people from different backgrounds, the Forum proved to work.

Investors will find much to like about Macedonia’s business climate, which the World Bank ranks 22nd in the world. But they shouldn’t wait long to jump in. The country of 2 million is one of four Balkan countries that are candidates to join the European Union, which gives Macedonia some flexibility in incentives negotiations not afforded to member countries. Other benefits include lower employment costs and less competition for labor.

South Korea, China or Malaysia? If you were forced to bet on which of these three ranks highest for global competitiveness, which would you choose? Without knowing the subject of this piece, few would have picked Malaysia, but this beautiful nation in Southeast Asia habitually beats its higher-profile neighbors to the north in some key statistics.

Can a nation be stable and dynamic at the same time? The answer from Canada is a distinct “Yes.” A look at the corporate projects unfolding across the nation reveals both Canadian stability and Canadian outreach.

Somaliland has a challenge. Many in the world do not know where it is. Many that do know where it is associate it with marine piracy and lawlessness. Those people who do know where it is probably come from countries that do not recognize it. But with Coca-Cola opening a plant and the potential of a new Free Zone then maybe the good times are returning.

Cambodia has come from the rough: its recent history is scarred by the Khmer Rouge era of the late 1970’s where the genocide of over 2 million persons remains one of the worst historical examples of man’s inhumanity to man.

Commerce between the United States and Mexico is one of the great — yet underappreciated — success stories of the global economy. In 2011 U.S.-Mexico goods and services trade reached the major milestone of one-half trillion dollars with virtually no recognition. The United States is Mexico’s top trading partner, and Mexico — which has gained macroeconomic stability and expanded its middle class over the last two decades — is the United States’ second largest export market and third largest trading partner.

Before the international banking crisis, the European Union represented a promised land for European outsiders looking in. Balkan countries, seeing a path to prosperity, scrambled to join. The lure was particularly strong for sovereign states emerging from war-torn Yugoslavia.

Buenos Aires embarked a few years ago on the creation of specialized business and industry districts, and they have been quite successful. Now this doesn’t sound like anything new, but there is an important difference. With far less going for them, as compared to other regions that have launched these types of projects, the Argentine capital has been able to do far more with far less.