Growth Factors:

The Drivers Behind 2015’s Top 10 Emerging Markets

The growth rates of emerging markets were forecasted to slow to an average of 4.4 percent in 2014, down from 7.5 percent in 2010 according to the International Monetary Fund. But not every country is suffering. Some markets have been insulated against outside forces, such as dropping commodity prices, through strong internal policies, among other factors. Here, we take an in-depth look at the environments fostering the strong growth of the top 10 emerging markets.

Gross Domestic Product Growth (IN%) per the IMF

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Qatar

01-one

6.5 percent,
2014 GROWTH RATE

7.7 percent,
PROJECTED 2015
GROWTH RATE

$16 billion, cost of Hamad International Airport, opened in 2014, which promises not only global travel, but also 70 retail shops

2022, the year Qatar will host the FIFA World Cup, driving major infrastructure improvement projects including road systems, a metro system in Doha, stadiums, and arenas

85 percent of export earnings come from oil and natural gas, making the country vulnerable to unstable prices

China

02-two

7.4 percent,
2014 GROWTH RATE

7.1 percent,
PROJECTED 2015
GROWTH RATE

10.4 percent, the growth rate of China in 2010, which has since slowed to 7.4 percent in 2014

4 million yuan, the amount paid on the 89.8 million yuan due when Chinese company Chaori Solar defaulted on its bond note in March 2014, raising concerns about how China would balance market liberalization with financial stability

November 2014, the month Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect launched, which opened up the Shanghai Stock Exchange to international trade for the first time and allows mainland investors to buy Hong Kong stocks

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India

03-three

5.6 percent,
2014 GROWTH RATE

6.4 percent,
PROJECTED 2015
GROWTH RATE

1947, the year India last implemented large-scale tax reform. The new goods and services tax, which is scheduled to take effect in 2016, will replace indirect taxes placed on goods and services by the central and state governments and is expected to increase growth

30 percent, the amount the Bombay Stock Exchange S&P BSE SENSEX has risen since the beginning of March 2014, when it looked certain that the business-minded Narendra Modi would be elected prime minister (he won two months later)

Philippines

04-four

6.2 percent,
2014 GROWTH RATE

6.3 percent,
PROJECTED 2015
GROWTH RATE

1.1 million, the number of homes destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in November 2013, from which the country continues to recover

5.4 percent, Philippines’ growth rate in the third quarter of 2014, reflecting lower state spending

No. 4, Philippines’ ranking among the fastest-growing emerging-market economies in the world

Trade and commerce, areas currently constrained by the Philippines’ lack of modernization in customs regulations and infrastructure

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Indonesia

05-five

5.2 percent,
2014 GROWTH RATE

5.5 percent,
PROJECTED 2015
GROWTH RATE

No. 3 largest democracy in the world

No. 1 largest economy in Southeast Asia

Poor roads, a factor many analysts blame for hurting the country’s growth rate, which reform-minded President Joko Widodo, elected in July 2014, promised to invest in

$8 billion, amount of money in projected government savings by the end of 2015 due to cut fuel subsidies promised by Widodo

Malaysia

06-six

5.9 percent,
2014 GROWTH RATE

5.2 percent,
PROJECTED 2015
GROWTH RATE

40 percent of the world’s supply of palm oil is produced in Malaysia

10 percent of Malaysia’s GDP is accounted for by palm oil

4.5 percent export tax on crude palm oil was temporarily removed from September 2014 through February 2015 in the hopes of increasing growth

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Peru

07-seven

3.6 percent,
2014 GROWTH RATE

5.1 percent,
PROJECTED 2015
GROWTH RATE

60 percent of country’s export earnings come from mining

No. 1, the ranking it will achieve as fastest-growing emerging-market economy in Latin America if IMF growth projections come true

3.5 percent, the lowest interest rate in Peru in three years after the central bank cut the rates in September 2014

A3, the rating Moody’s Investors Service raised Peru’s credit to in July 2014, matching that of Mexico and trailing only Chile in Latin America

Alonso Segura, the well-regarded economist appointed finance minister in September, who is pushing for major economic reforms

$1 billion, size of bond being pushed by Segura along with tax cuts to finance public sector investments and short-term spending

Thailand

08-eight

1 percent,
2014 GROWTH RATE

4.6 percent,
PROJECTED 2015
GROWTH RATE

Political instability, the cause of the dismal growth rate in 2014

2011, the year that former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra began her tenure, which ended in May 2014 during a military coup

Military rule, believed to have stabilized the business environment, which should revive foreign direct investment and growth after a year of disruptive political unrest

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Colombia

09-nine

4.8 percent,
2014 GROWTH RATE

4.5 percent,
PROJECTED 2015
GROWTH RATE

2X, oil production rate increase in the last 8 years

10 percent of the country’s roads are paved, and the country’s infrastructure badly needs investment

50 years, how long it’s been since the conflict between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia began

December 2014, when negotiations began promising a potential end to the conflict, which could lead to increased growth

United Arab Emirates

10-ten

4.3 percent,
2014 GROWTH RATE

4.5 percent,
PROJECTED 2015
GROWTH RATE

Emerging market status, the country was upgraded from frontier market by U.S.-based index provider MSCI

Less than 1/3, the fraction of the GDP now accounted for by oil, thanks to efforts by the government to diversify the economy

Tourism, the area government has worked to develop through luxury hotels and international airlines Etihad Airways and Emirates

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