The Center for Emerging Markets held its seventh annual symposium on Tuesday, June 7, highlighting the changing, volatile, market conditions many companies face in emerging economies.
Ravi Ramamurti, center director and Distinguished Professor of International Business and Strategy, opened the symposium with a summation of the current state of emerging markets.
Nariman Behravesh, chief economist for Massachusetts-based IHS Global Insight, and symposium keynote speaker highlighted the “perfect storm” of the 2000's market conditions that lead to the downturn and turbulent trends. This “golden decade” was often characterized by rising prices, off-shoring businesses and the decline of global interest rates, followed by a brief upswing after the global financial collapse.
Now though, he said there is a “great divergence in the performance of emerging markets,” as some countries such as Russia and Venezuela suffer through recessions, while more positive market trends are emerging in the Middle East and other regions.
Other symposium speakers included Alberto Carvalho, president of Proctor & Gamble-Brazil; David Nardone, DMSB'79, MBA'82, president and CEO of Hemaraj Land and Development Co. Ltd. in Thailand; Karim Smadi, DMSB'93, managing director, Reda Industrial Materials in Dubai and Stephen Hayes, president and CEO of the Corporate Council on Africa.
