Emerging markets

Many UK companies are planning to do business in emerging markets, if they are not already engaged there. Commodities and cutting costs, sourcing and skills have been the major pulls but given the favourable demographics, emerging markets now represent enormous domestic markets as well. Very few businesses can afford to ignore the opportunities and the pressures.

PricewaterhouseCoopers understands that when entering emerging markets, long-term planning and careful execution are essential. Companies should not only think about securing deals and developing operations but also about testing opportunities and safeguarding their assets, whether physical, human or intellectual.  

To highlight the critical importance of the relationship between risk and reward, we have developed a fresh approach to help inform investment decisions - the PwC EM20 Index. Now in its second year, the Index ranks the top 20 countries for both the manufacturing and services sectors which companies looking to invest in emerging markets could use as a stepping stone for conducting a thorough analysis of potential investment locations.

Once a decision is made, the process of entering an emerging market can be complex. Regulation, trade barriers, tax, political variables and social issues - from HR to CSR - should all be thoroughly investigated. But with specialist help the challenges are surmountable and the potential rewards significant.

The solutions to these challenges are usually bespoke and country-specific; therefore we have established a network of country business centres as part of our Emerging Markets team in the UK.  Our specialist India, China, Russia & CIS, Central and Eastern Europe and Middle East business centres work closely with PricewaterhouseCoopers firms in emerging markets to enhance value for our clients. In addition to assisting our UK clients interested in doing business in emerging markets, the country business centres also advise companies and individuals from these countries wishing to conduct business or invest in the UK.