Business Week has a special report on the importance of the emerging markets for technology (China, South Korea, India, Eastern Europe, Russia). Each market has its own drivers.
In Russia, oil money and strong economic growth is pushing the dial. In China, efforts to automate manufacturing are driving sales, as is a growing consumer market. In India, the software and outsourcing markets have boomed, creating 160,000 jobs, a 25% increase, in just the past 12 months. Although more mature than other emerging markets, South Korea is enjoying stellar growth, thanks to a boom in broadband demand. A keeping-up-with-the Joneses mentality there, plus a zeal for education has prompted parents to buy computers and other tech devices to ensure that junior becomes tech-savvy. Likewise, Korean schools use computers and the Internet extensively in homework assignments.
The conclusion is telling: “But with the East rising steadily as the West struggles, the importance of these emerging markets will clearly increase over time.”
East+T
