In The News

Japan Makes More Cars Elsewhere

Martin Fackler August 2, 2006
A report released by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association shows that for the first time Japanese car companies manufactured more cars abroad than in Japan during the last fiscal year. The shift to local manufacturing has been a natural result of globalization of the industry, allowing the companies to shield profits from currency changes, reduce shipping costs and appeal to local...

South African Business: Going Global

July 26, 2006
Following the fall of apartheid, South African companies had much catching up to do. The isolation of the 1980s, however, did confer some benefits, including self-sufficiency and internal development. Another result was the creation of local conglomerates focusing on diverse industries, or “business octopuses.” Allowed to do business beyond South Africa’s borders, however, these unwieldy...

Even Statelessness Goes Better With Coke. Or Does It?

Marc Lacey July 19, 2006
In 2004, local investors – carefully chosen to represent the various clans of Somalia – opened a Coca-Cola bottling plant in the capital city of Mogadishu. Since then, Islamic militias have taken control of the government, and Somalia’s investment scene has changed substantially for those who want to sell an American brand of soda. The militias brought unprecedented levels of security, greatly...

Megaplayers Vs. Micropowers

Moisés Naím July 12, 2006
The globe has entered an era of instability according to Moisés Naím, editor in chief of “Foreign Policy,” and that has opened opportunities for small, but highly competitive forces in the business, political and financial worlds. Some examples: Multinational corporations like Royal Dutch Shell no longer protests movements toward nationalization of oil supplies in small Latin American countries...

Coming to Terms With the Forces of Anti-Globalization

Nick Mathiason June 23, 2006
Increasing criticism of capitalism and multinationals, even by British Conservatives, neglects an emerging trend in global commerce. Cited in the May/June issue of “Foreign Affairs” by IBM chairman and chief executive Samuel Palmisano, the “globally integrated enterprise,” or GIE, is a new trend. The GIE no longer invests in outsourcing cheap labor to poor countries while reserving the...

Globalization Must Be Embraced: IBM's Elix

David Nason June 20, 2006
By adopting global integration strategies immediately and together, multinational corporations could ensure that globalization continues unimpeded. And that would force governments to collaborate and respond to globalization, according to Doug Elix, head of IBM’s sales and distribution arm. He suggests that globalization of business is inevitable, and he emphasized that point with a visit to...

Russia’s Surging Steel Industry May Seek Role on a Global Stage

Andrew E. Kramer June 20, 2006
With its abundant supply of cheap labor, energy and iron ore, Russian steel super-giants are game to do cross-border business. The strategy centers on consolidating the Russian steel industry around one or two companies, which, according to Moscow metals analyst Sergei M. Donskoy, will provide more bargaining power with foreign steel makers. Russia’s richest man, Roman A. Abramovich, bought a...