Wake Up Time Again

Several months back I wrote about business in Western Canada needing to change their future global thinking from the mindset that trade goes across the Atlantic ocean and south to the USA. I mentioned that we need to think of Asia Pacific as the "near west" not the "far east" as generations before us did. The growth of many Western Canadian businesses comes from developing markets in Asia not from past models of the 20th century. To act as a rallying cry for the next generation of businesses, three days ago Michael Geoghegan, chief executive of HSBC, delivered a speech at the American Chamber of Congress in Hong Kong that I believe any business leaders must read.

Mr. Geoghegan recently moved his office from London to Hong Kong to visibly send a signal that the western-centric mindset of global business needs to change. The following is the close of his speech and I attach a link to the entire speech at the end of this blog.  This is a sober look at the business world going forward from someone who has a front row seat. Do yourself and your partners a favour - read it.


"To recap, we have already entered a new phase for the global economy. We will see a new set of dynamic economies: the CIVETS joining the BRICs. We will see the rise of a new middle class and the emerging-market millionaire. We will see trade routes continue to shift in direction. We will see emerging markets' financial centers come of age. All this spells the continuing decline of the Western-centric mindset. All this marks a new beginning for the way the world does business. After three months back here, I am more convinced than ever that this is the decade for Asia's economy."


http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/29/hsbc-ceo-asia-china-india-markets-economy-michael-geoghegan.html

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