Economic Powerhouses: Good morning Vietnam!

The Vietnamese economy is wide-awake and ready for business. In the last decade the GDP has doubled, the annual growth rate has averaged 7.2% and increased foreign investment has created an economy boom.

Five countries UK energy companies can plug in to

The UK is renowned for its innovation skills across the energy sub-sectors, making UK companies an attractive investor into new opportunities overseas to expand their business. By 2030 the UKTI predicts revenue from domestic and international business will rise to £200 billion.

Economic Powerhouses: Go bonkers for Brazil’s booming economy

In this first article in our series on Powerhouse Economies we look at Brazil. In 3 years’ time the 2016 Rio Olympics is going to be one carnival-clad party with feathers galore and the world’s eyes firmly locked on everything Brazil has to offer.

Highly populated, historically rich and boasting an annual economic growth rate of 4.5% for the last 50 years, Brazil is a global player. From Agriculture to Construction, Brazilian manufacturers and foreign investors alike are in party mode and UK businesses are invited to join. So, here’s your ticket for everything you need to know to discover whether your business will strike Gold by expanding services or products into Brazil.

What’s your flavour? Pepsi variations around the world

Learning from Pepsi - one size (or flavour) does not fit all.

To suit the varying taste buds of customers around the world, Pepsi has come up with around 100 different flavours for international markets.

The strangest Pepsi flavours

Among the strangest flavours are Pepsi Ice Cream, Pepsi Fire (hot cinnamon flavour) and Pepsi Ice (mint flavour), sold in several markets including Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.

Where in the world is the easiest place to do business?

According to the World Bank’s annual Ease of Doing Business Report, the answer is Singapore. In fact, there’s nothing new there as Singapore has held the top spot for the last seven years.

What might be more surprising is that the report’s global top improver for the last year was Poland, climbing the ranks from its previous position at 74th to its new spot at number 55. While 55th position might not sound all that impressive, it means that in the space of a year the country has made it much easier to do business. It’s achieved this by introducing four institutional or regulatory reforms which make it easier to register property, pay taxes, enforce contracts and resolve insolvency.

As well as Poland, other economies identified as improving the ease of doing business are Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Burundi, Costa Rica, Mongolia, Greece, Serbia and Kazakhstan. Across the world, a total of 108 economies implemented 201 regulatory reforms to make it easier to do business. Globally, these efforts have focused on making it easier to start a new business, increasing the efficiency of tax administration and facilitating international trade (a full list can be seen here: http://www.doingbusiness.org/reforms/overview/topic/trading-across-borders).