Strong economic growth in Asian and African markets presents major opportunities for global business

Following the economic crisis that crippled the world’s economic powerhouses and slowed growth in the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China), attention has turned to new markets as global businesses seek to find the next major business opportunities of the decade.

Analysts are increasingly agreeing on the importance of the PINE countries as new economic powers. The Philippines, Indonesia, Nigeria and Ethiopia are demonstrating impressively strong growth in what remain difficult economic circumstances globally.

The Philippines is the fastest-growing economy of the emerging PINE markets, growing its GDP by 7.2% last year. Neighboring Indonesia has been similarly excelling, exhibiting growth of 5.7% in the last year, which is expected to continue to grow at over 6% this year. These levels of GDP growth are stronger than that expected for China in 2014.

Growth in the South Asian emerging markets is being fuelled by attractive exports, and an increasing ease of doing business. The continued expansion of these markets is attracting the attention of major international companies, enthused by the growing size of the middle classes and the generally positive business conditions.

The PINE countries are within the business portfolio of Lamudi, a major global online real estate marketplace. Paul Philipp Hermann, Co-Founder at Lamudi, commented on the implications of this impressive growth for the company’s operations in Asia: “Lamudi is only the latest of a growing roster of companies with an international reputation such as Shell, Allianz, HSBC, Dell and more, who are targeting emerging markets such as the Philippines and Indonesia for investment.

In our experience, both Indonesia and the Philippines are not only great places but exciting places to do business. We are looking forward to a very bright future in these locations and are convinced that the PINE markets offer the major business opportunity of the next decade”.

Whether people are looking for properties for rent or for sale, the internet platform Lamudi enables customers to easily find or sell their house, apartment, commercial property or land online. At the same time, property providers and agents get a trusted online presence through a personalized webpage.

Key characteristics of Lamudi are the diverse property offers, the intuitive website set-up and the high security standards which filter-out fraudulent property offers. The business platform operates under a high level of transparency through professional photos, updated listings, detailed descriptions, reports and rankings for 100% of its properties in each market. The Lamudi platform helps brokers to manage their inventory fast, easy and stress-free.