NetZealous Growth in Asia - Bangalore

Asia, the continent on which the world’s attention has been riveted for a while now, is justified in being in a position of importance from the perspective of the world powers for a good number of reasons.

Asia is the world’s fastest growing continent. It is now set to enter what analysts are hailing as record growth figures. It is the most populated continent on the planet, with the most number of people with spending power. It is also home to two countries, two giants if you like –China and India –which house more than a third of the world’s population, and are two economies with the fastest growth rates in the world.

What makes Asia particularly interesting and enticing for those interested in areas like pharmaceuticals, healthcare and medical devices is that the diverse economies represent a healthy blend of opportunities.

While China is among the world’s largest markets for medical devices and is growing at 20% a year, over three times that of the US market; the Indian economy is home to some of the world’s leading brains and investments in pharmaceuticals. Economies like Bangladesh, South Korea and Taiwan bring their own strengths.

Not without challenges:
When viewed as a whole, the Asian continent may sound promising from the macro perspective, but seen at the level of individual economies, the Asian story is not without its challenges. Because of the demographic nature of the leading economies of Asia, there is likely to be shift in the locus of growth. Consider this important fact: In China and Japan, the productive population is going to age in the next couple of decades or so. At this stage, it is difficult to predict what levels of productivity the fresh blood that is going to take its place is likely to bring. Moreover, a sociopolitical policy of seminal importance to the Chinese economy, the One Child Policy, is likely to continue for some more time and could stabilize the population. Its impact on the productive population is not very clear at this point of time.

Concerns about the Chinese economy:
The Chinese economy is also showing signs of a relative slowdown. The rest of the world is concerned that the Chinese slowdown could bring the record-breaking growth levels seen over the past three decades or more –over 7.5% annually, could come to down to five percent. Even this growth rate is enviable by the current world growth standards; but when this happens in the world’s most populated country and second biggest economy, the world sits up and takes notice.

A more important aspect of this worry is the reason for the slowdown. This is believed to be the spinoff of the steps being taken by the Chinese government to change the very drivers of the economy. It is taking steps to reduce dependence on exports as an agent of growth and make the economy more driven by internal, domestic consumption. When an economy of this size and population takes monumental decisions of this nature; it is sure to have major implications for world trade.

Focus on India:
That brings the next major Asian economy, India, into focus. At a time when these tectonic shifts are likely to unfold in China, India is projected as the one that is likely to challenge and probably even take its position as a manufacturing hub at some point of time in the future. India’s new government, which took office about a couple of years back, is completely growth-driven. Its Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is a man on the move, working with a CEO-like zeal to pump up the economy. His government’s major initiatives, such as Make in India, are offering investment opportunities in manufacturing with open arms. If the Indian economy could address its traditional barriers to business, such as slow or low levels of policy implementation, corruption and a sluggish bureaucracy, all of which are seen as major impeding factors to business, we could see the emergence of India in a new avatar.

For more read at httpsnetzealousgrowthinasia.wordpress.com/