Frontier Strategy Group - Emerging Market Insights

The Mexican economy is experiencing firm growth despite significant foreign exchange volatility, weak oil prices, and the beginning of major public sector budget cuts that will cap growth expectations going into 2016.

Multinationals’ success in ASEAN will depend heavily on their ability to develop local talent. Unfortunately, few companies have developed talent strategies adapted to the region’s unique landscape. In this podcast, we discuss a recently released report that will help companies tailor their talent management programs to ASEAN’s regional nuances.

Multinationals must manage their sales forces effectively as a critical step toward achieving profitable growth in the Chinese market; however, geographical and demographic complexity, rising wages, and a highly competitive talent market have made sales force management in the country increasingly challenging for multinationals

Belarus will have another difficult year in 2016. Further recession and lack of reforms will complicate the business environment and cloud the country's outlook. MNCs need to prepare for this environment through careful planning now. In this podcast, FSG expert advisor Andrew Wilson discusses what companies should expect from Belarus in 2016.

In the third year of its flagship report, Events to Watch, FSG helps clients to identify key disruptors that should be incorporated into their scenario plans for the coming year. Our experience is that clients that have demonstrated the most resilient performance embed scenario and contingency plans into their strategic planning process.

Rapid decentralization, under which states are becoming key players in policymaking, necessitates a regional opportunity assessment in India. With this in mind, FSG has built a city prioritization framework for India, which categorizes city clusters in India into super, emerging, and frontier clusters. This approach will influence MNCs’ talent, organizational, channel, and product strategies

FSG believes India is shifting toward a higher growth trajectory, and we expect that the country’s GDP will expand by 7.75% annually through 2020. India’s five-year growth forecasts make it the world’s fastest-growing major emerging economy. Executives need to understand how reform expectations and state-level policies will affect strategic plans and resource allocation decisions in India

Azerbaijan is going to face a difficult 2016 and MNCs need to be prepared for a rapidly changing market and adjust expectations. In particular, firms will have to prepare for a significant devaluation of the currency and a sharp downturn in government spending in 2016.

China’s stock market crash has called into question its leaders’ capacity to steer the country through economic transition. While the government has tools to smooth the slowdown in overall growth, bad debt still threatens to destabilize the financial system. In this podcast, we discuss our recent report on these issues and identify markets that are at risk if China takes a turn for the worse.

FSG's CEO, Rich Leggett interviews Lauren Goodwin, Practice Leader of Global Economics on her global outlook in 2016. This podcast summarizes Lauren's recent report and dives into global economic drivers for 2016 and their implications for multinational business strategy and performance.

Southern Africa offers SSA’s best operating environment, and with a nominal GDP of US$ 587 billion in 2014, it is the second-largest region in SSA. MNCs tend to focus on the region’s biggest markets, South Africa and Angola, but as both countries are facing tough economic times, executives need to look beyond for new growth opportunities in the region.

2016 will likely be another volatile year for SSA. A new wave of currency depreciation, low commodity prices, and a subdued global outlook will put pressure on many economies. Listen to FSG's Head of Sub-Saharan Africa research, Anna Rosenberg, talk about the main trends affecting the region in 2016 and how MNCs can plan ahead.

The outlook for EMEA markets in 2016 remains challenging, but MNCs are looking at ways to optimize performance despite headwinds. This podcast summarizes the key themes from FSG's October 7, 2015 executive round table event, highlighting how MNCs are planning to adapt their businesses for success in 2016.

FSG Head of Global Research, Joel Whitaker interviews Pablo Gonzalez, Practice Leader for Latin America on his 2020 business outlook for Brazil. In addition to providing an overview of the long-term view of the Brazilian market, Pablo also shares key takeaways from his recent research trips and discussions with executives on the ground.

Despite the uncertainty in the Ukrainian market, MNCs need to consider selective opportunities as well as careful scenario planning as part of their 2016 Ukraine strategies. This podcast discusses the baseline assumptions MNCs should include in their 2016 Ukraine plans, the primary risks to monitor, and what companies can do to manage the country's difficult operating environment.

As Turkey's November election date nears, political instability, rising insecurity and currency volatility are muting confidence levels among both consumers and businesses. In this podcast, FSG's lead Turkey analyst Zeynep Kosereisoglu discusses the outlook for the market and actions MNCs should take now to adapt to what is likely to be a prolonged period of uncertainty.

Multinationals are increasingly reconsidering their presence in Venezuela and deciding if they should remain committed to the market or exit entirely. In this podcast, FSG's Practice Leader for Latin America Research Antonio Martinez discusses how companies should evaluate their current footprint, the strengths of their local partners, and the long-term attractiveness of the Venezuelan market.

Argentina’s recession continues as a result of years of excessive fiscal spending, which caused a series of macroeconomic imbalances, prompting government interventions that have also significantly impacted the operating environment for MNCs. In this podcast, FSG's Senior Analyst for Latin America Research Mario Gutierrez discusses how multinationals should plan for a recovery in Argentina.

As SSA’s second-largest oil producer, Angola is exposed to volatility resulting from low oil prices. This has led to an economic crisis, but MNCs are nevertheless expanding locally as the government pushes business reforms and economic diversification with a new-found urgency. In this podcast, SSA Senior Analyst Alexa Lion comments on trends MNCs should factor into their 2016 Angola plans.

Tunisia's economic outlook for H2 2015 and 2016 deteriorated after the second terrorist attack in the country. Amid rising risk perceptions, executives must understand the nature of insecurity in the country and ensure their distributors are responding effectively to lower domestic demand