Hosting the majority of the planet's population, it is not a surprise to see Asian countries playing an increasingly prominent role in today's business world. With a little under half of the countries on this top-20 of IBTimes1000 list coming from Asia, their collective business and geopolitical clout indeed suggests history's torch is moving from West to East.
For several decades, the economic leader in Asia was Japan, but now China is among the region's rising stars. We only have to look at where the majority of our goods are manufactured to understand the role China plays on the global stage.
The United States, with the world's largest and most diverse economy, maintains its top spot in terms of GDP, but is outpaced by the likes of Greater China and India in its number of fastest growing global companies.
Next comes Singapore, which sits at the crossroads of South East Asian shipping routes. With an increasingly complex free market economy, the city-state seems poised to be the world’s next high-tech and financial center. The city’s economic growth depends almost entirely on exports and in particular, the consumption of electronics. Suffering a slight drop in growth over the course of 2009, the city’s GDP almost doubled in 2010 thanks in large part to the country’s exports. The city has attracted major investments in pharmaceuticals and medical technology. The country specializes in electronics, financial services, oil drilling equipment and rubber processing.FlickrOman is trying to diversify its portfolio. Woefully dependent on dwindling oil supplies, Oman’s government is trying to invest in non-oil sectors of the country. The goal is to reduce the oil sector’s contribution to the country’s GDP to 9 percent by end of this decade. The strategy involves investing in natural gas and tourism. Besides oil Oman produces camels, bananas, dates, and limes. Its other products include copper, steel, optic fibers and construction. Along with Turkey, Oman has seven companies listed in the top 20 of IBT1000.REUTERSSweden’s long-lasting neutrality in the last century has shaped that country into what it is now. With eight of the world’s fastest growing companies, the country enjoys a 31 percent growth rate, and has become an exporter of lumber and wood pulp throughout the world. The country also specializes in precise equipment – bearings, radio and telephone parts – as well as iron and steel.FlickrQatar is next on IBT1000, and the country has proved to be immune to the global downturn in the recent years. The country actually prospered. In 2010 the small country had the highest growth rate, attributed largely to an increase in oil prices. Although the country does produce fruits, vegetables, poultry, cement, steel and petrochemicals, its largest commodities comes from oil and natural gas refining. The country has about 14 percent of the world’s proven natural gas reserves and has enough recoverable oil to continue its current output for another 57 years. The country’s revenue is almost entirely driven by oil and natural gas sales.FlickrFrance, with 10 of the world’s fastest growing companies, holds the second largest economy in the European Union second to Germany. It is home to several major players in the oil and natural gas industry, and is sometimes referenced as Europe’s bread basket (although in recent years that title has gone to the Ukraine). France is the second largest agricultural exporter in Europe, but does house heavy industries including petrochemical and automobiles. The country is also a leader in nuclear-generated power. At 23.5 percent growth, France’s compounded growth rate is above that of the United Kingdom, but below the likes of German and the United States. In recent months, France like Germany, has had to bolster a fledgling Euro. The country’s banking system is heavily exposed to toxic debt from Italy and Greece and threatens the viability of the country’s financial institutions.ReutersWith 12 of the world’s fastest growing companies, Argentina is the only South American country represented in the top 20 of IBT1000. At the turn of the millennium, Argentina all but collapsed. In 2001, the country suffered a severe bank run, and in December of that year, President Adolfo Rodriguez Saa declared the country defaulted on its foreign debt. The economy tanked in 2002 and has slowly increased since then. Much like the rest of the world, Argentina’s economy slowed in 2009, but has since rebounded. The country, however, remains threatened by high inflation. Argentina is best known for its food – particularly its beef, though a majority of its workers are in the country’s service sector. The country also produces, steel, petrochemicals and textiles.ReutersBack in Europe, Berlin wields the continent’s economic sledge hammer. With debt worries rocking the Euro-Zone members, Germany finds itself at the helm of the world’s largest collective economy, trying to prevent it from falling apart. Germany itself, boasts the fifth largest global economy and the largest in the EU. The country is the leading exporter of machinery, sports cars and chemicals. Unlike its EU counterparts, however, Germany remains relatively split – economically – East to West following the country’s partial inclusion in the Soviet Union, and efforts to integrate Eastern Germany into the Western fold remains an on-going issue. With 43 million people in the country’s labor force, Germany is home to 14 of the world’s top 1,000 fastest growing economies.FlickrPakistan has 16 of the world’s fastest growing companies, but its economic standing is far less than its more affluent neighbor India. Pakistan has experienced some setbacks that hurt the economic growth of the country. Floods in the summer of 2010, for example, hurt crop yields and led to inflation. The country also suffers from poverty and underdevelopment. Almost half the country’s labor force is agricultural in nature, and at $465 billion in GDP, the country’s economy is almost double that of Singapore’s. The country’s growth rate, at 32 percent, is higher than India’s, and its industry is primarily based in textile exports.ReutersIBT1000 starts with Greater China, the world’s largest exporter. Encompassing Hong Kong, the mainland and Taiwan, the region boasts 265 of the world’s 1,000 fastest growing companies. Mainland China has experienced almost supernatural growth since the 1970s. Surpassing Japan in 2001, mainland China is the world’s second largest economy, and the dollar value of the country’s industrial output exceeds that of the U.S. Hong Kong has proved to be the steppingstone for Chinese companies seeking to trade internationally. Due to its former colonial status, Hong Kong has enjoyed relative independence, but its business transactions are increasingly dependent on the mainland. As of 2009, Hong Kong’s service industry was responsible for 90 percent of the territory’s GDP. In what has been a familiar theme world-wide, most of the region’s manufacturing plants have relocated to the mainland. Despite its unique position, the region only has 22 of the world’s fastest growing companies, but has the second largest compounded growth rates of the top 20 countries of IBT1000. Taiwan, with 152 of the fastest growing companies, helps place Greater China at the top of this list. With roughly 70 percent of the country’s growth tied to electronics and machinery, most of the island country’s economic well being resides in exports and in global demand.ReutersThailand in the past few years has been bolstered by high levels of consumer confidence. The country bounced back after a series of violent protests in March of 2010, and propelled by tourism dollars, the country’s economy continues to grow. Though the global financial crisis hurt Thailand severely, prompting double-digit drops in its largest industries, like most of its neighbors in the region, the country bounced back, and its economy rose by 7.6 percent in 2010. With a labor force of 38.6 million people, the country exports textiles, jewelry, and electric appliances. It is also known as the world’s largest tungsten producer.ReutersAcross the Atlantic, the United Kingdom also houses 22 of the world’s fastest growing companies, and is next on IBT1000. Bolstered by the world’s historically most valuable currency – the British Pound – the UK has Europe’s third largest economy behind Germany and France. As the cradle of the Industrial Revolution, the UK boasts large hydrocarbon resources including coal and oil, and has a highly mechanized agricultural base. The country, much like the United States has developed a large service and financial sector, but does produce large amounts of electric power equipment, motor vehicles, electronics and communication equipment and petroleum. The global financial crisis of 2008 hit the island kingdom particularly hard as its financial institutions are tied to global markets. Since then, the country’s financial health has seesawed as European debt fears keep global stocks on a volatile rollercoaster. The UK in recent years could also face an increasing level of diplomatic isolation, however, as Germany and France take the lead in reigning in the Euro zone’s debt problems.ReutersAustralia comes in the middle of our list. With close to a 50 percent compounded growth rate, Australia is one of the world’s more stable economic players. The country’s economy grew for 17 consecutive years before the financial crisis of recent years curbed its growth, but only during one quarter. With 22 of the world’s 1,000 fastest growing companies, Australia is home to vast natural resources and offshore natural gas deposits, which global oil and gas companies like Chevron are tapping into. The country has a large trading relationship with its regional powerhouse – China – and is expected to start rebuilding its budget surpluses as soon as 2015.ReutersComing in eighth place on IBT1000, is Canada – the Great White North. The name is not euphemistic. With continuous permafrost and arctic conditions, the nation’s geography acts as a natural boundary to development and economic growth. Of the nation’s 9 million square kilometers, 4.5 percent is arable, and 90 percent of the country’s population lives within 100 miles of the U.S. border. That being said, the country is a growing player in the oil industry and is seeking to expand its reach to Asian markets with new pipelines from Alberta to the Pacific. Canada hosts 23 of the world’s fastest growing companies, and benefits from being increasingly integrated with the United States, the latter of which imports more than half of all Canadian goods. Canada supplies its southern neighbor with oil, natural gas and electricity and boasts a growth rate that is higher than the United States.ReutersDivided in half by the South China Sea, Malaysia has its eye set on getting its own economic place under the sun. That being said, however, the country is in the top half of IBT1000. The county hosts 24 of the top 1,000 fastest growing companies, and boasts a growth rate that at 29.3 percent is just slightly below that of India’s. For several decades the country’s government has led efforts to guide the country to ever climbing production levels. Malaysia is seeking investments in finance, and biotechnology, and is uniquely located near one of the world’s largest shipping bottle necks. The country’s central bank has a well-developed regulatory system in place and the country has benefitted from its oil and natural gas exports. Much like the United States, however, its economy took a hit in recent years due to the global economic downturn and the ensuing drop in consumer demand for goods. Faced with a tight budget, Malaysia has had to curb its subsidies, as well as trying to curb its dependence on its domestic oil industry which constitutes 40 percent of the nation’s revenue.FlickrOut of the two Koreas, South Korea is by far the more developed. The country rose out of the rubble of the Korean War and five decades later, in 2004, had an economy that exceeded one trillion dollars. The thriftiest out of its neighbors, the South Korean government promoted slow and steady growth, keeping a close reign of its businesses. Its caution has paid off it seems as now the nation is one of the top 20 largest global economies, with a compounded annual growth rate that is larger than that of the United States and Taiwan. With more than 24 million people in the country’s labor force, South Korea is one of the leaders in electronics, and telecommunications. It hosts 44 of the fastest growing companies in IBT1000. The country also produced automobiles, steel and chemicals, but its growth is over dependent on manufacturing exports. ReutersThe United States is next with 176 of the fastest growing companies. Though not at the top of our list, the United States still has the world’s largest and most diverse economy. With roughly 154 million people in the country’s labor force contributing $14.6 trillion in GDP, the United States is only matched by all of the countries in the European Union combined. The country is second in overall industrial output, but is faced with a large trade deficit as most of the country’s goods are imported. The country’s finances in recent years have been troubled since 2009 following a global economic downturn that thrust the county into a prolonged recession.Reuters
