Jim O’Neill (Mr BRIC) comes to HKUST

Jim O'Neill takes the stage

This past Friday, economist Jim O’Neill gave a talk at HKUST.  O’Neill is most famous for coining the term BRIC countries (referring to Brazil, Russia, India and China) in 2001; he now serves as the current Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management.  His talk took place in a large auditorium on campus, which was packed with students, local professionals, and plenty of media (who played the paparazzi role very well throughout most of the speech - flashes galore!)

He discussed the difference between emerging markets and growth markets, claiming that the BRIC countries can no longer be called emerging markets, but should be referred to as growth markets.  He identified the N-11 countries (next 11) as Mexico, Korea, Turkey, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Egypt, Poland, Vietnam, the Philippines and Iran.  Growth markets would include the BRIC countries and Mexico, Korea, Turkey, Indonesia.  He would classify the remaining 7 countries listed above as emerging markets.  

Giving his speech (notice the media!)

O’Neill was especially bullish on China.  He believes that the Chinese will become better innovators, which will make them more competitive on the global stage.  He even claimed that he thought everyone’s concern over Greece to be a bit overdone since this situation pales in comparison to China’s actions.

 

O’Neill’s main message was nothing earth shattering - that future global growth will be driven by the growth markets, followed by the emerging markets. However he is a gifted speaker and delivered his message eloquently.  What he did not touch upon was the significant level of both bottom up and top down due diligence required to profit from investing in higher risk growth and emerging economies.