Indonesia: another "I" in the BRIC?

To best develop its potential, the phenomenon of internationalization should pay attention to the so-called "emerging-emerging" countries. This is the opinion of many international analysts and economists. And in their opinion, Indonesia will be part of the BRICs.

The emergence of Brazil, Russia, India and China in the global economy has upset the economic, political, geopolitical and social balances of the world: the so-called BRIC expression, by the English economist Jim O'Neill, today represents much more of a simple bet and it is already a reality on which the future is being built and will be built. For the four BRIC countries there are many and significant demonstrations of power. Russia for example, despite both internal political and economic problems and the lack of reforms, continues to grow at a rate of 4% per year, almost totally dependent on the trend of metals and oil; the 40% of the most capitalized banks in the world is concentrated between Beijing and Shanghai; India is growing incredibly quickly and wants to assert itself not only from an economic point of view but also on a political level in the global context; Brazil, on the other hand, which will host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, aims to become an oil superpower and more.

Today, while economists are wondering who between India and China will lead the economy of the 21st century, other countries are appearing, not too timidly, on global markets: just think of the ASEAN area from which important realities emerge such as 'Indonesia. This country, which emerged with few injuries from the global financial crisis, has a 2010 GDP growth rate of 6.1% (some forecasts indicate a 6.3% for next year) and the GDP per capita should grow by 20% in the two-year period 2011 -2012. The abundant natural resources (Indonesia is the world's largest exporter of wood, silver and coal) and the rapid growth of the manufacturing sector (thanks to the progressive relocation of production from China) are the keystones of the rise of the Asian country.

Other elements in Indonesia's favor are political stability, confirmed by the recent presidential elections, FDI increasing by 34% compared to 2009 (reaching 3 billion euros) and the prospects for growth in the purchasing power of civil society: in fact, by 2015 it is expected that around 52 million Indonesians could re-enter the middle class. The main gaps are instead represented by corruption, the shortage and precarious condition of the infrastructure which undoubtedly contributes to slowing down the country's development.

Indonesia's growth was also highlighted by O'Neill himself, who after the term BRIC, coined another acronym: the MIKT (i.e. Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Turkey), a new group of countries on which they should focus international investors.

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Digital Export Manager (DEM): internationalization in a digital context