HSBC's group CEO Michael Geoghegan said the world's
centre of gravity is steadily shifting east and south, the view the bank has held since
several years before the crisis.
Geoghegan wonders, in a few years time, who'll remember the G7. But he is sure that all
will remember the E7 - China, India, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Indonesia and Turkey.
"Emerging markets are set to grow three times faster than developed ones this year," he
said in a speech to the American Chamber of Commerce, "But many Western nations will
struggle for some time, and we could see further setbacks, particularly in Europe."
He also expects the economic firepower of emerging markets will overtake the developed
world - measured by purchasing power parity - within three years.
Apart from BRIC, Geoghegan also loves the new BRICS, or CIVETS: Colombia, Indonesia,
Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa. He noted that each has large, young, growing
population. Each has a diverse and dynamic economy, and is politically stable.
Geoghegan also noted that in this decade, both emerging market assets and China's
currency (Renminbi) are coming of age.
"Personally, I believe the twenty-tens will bring about the close of the Western-centric
mindset.", he concluded. (KL)