Emerging Markets and Regions Paper

Essay by jtcole123University, Bachelor'sA+, June 2004

download word file, 5 pages 5.0

Emerging Markets

An emerging market is a country that is putting forth the effort to improve its economy by raising their performance to be comparable to more advanced nations of the world. Some of the more sizeable emerging markets include Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, and Turkey.

Each of these emerging markets lies within a free-trade region. There are ten free-trade regions under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Included are regions such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the European Union (EU), the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Indonesia is part of ASEAN.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations

ASEAN was established on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok. There were five original Member Countries, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined on January 8, 1984, Vietnam joined on July 28, 1995, Laos and Myanmar joined on July 23, 1997, and Cambodia joined on April 30, 1999.

The ASEAN region has a population of about 500 million, a total area of 4.5 million square kilometers, a combined gross domestic product of $737 billion, and a total trade of $720 billion (2004). The economic cooperation covers areas including trade, investment, industry, services, finance, agriculture, forestry, energy, transportation and communication, intellectual property, small and medium enterprises, and tourism.

Reasons for ASEAN's economic development for global business are as follows:

· To accelerate the economic growth, social progress, and cultural development in order to strengthen the foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian nations.

· To promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship among countries in the region and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter.