Emerging economies to edge past developed nations by 2050: study

Emerging economies will edge past the developed countries in terms of economic growth by 2050, according to a study.

The Ernst and Young European Attractiveness Survey 2007 says that the popularity of nations such as China and India as future business destinations is increasing while the attractiveness of Europe and North America is on the decline.

The seven new global powers by 2050 will comprise the so-called BRIC economies (Brazil, Russia, India and China) together with Indonesia, Mexico and Turkey, the survey by the global business consultancy company stated.

These seven emerging countries would overtake the economies of the G7 countries - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United States - in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), the survey noted.

According to the survey, the developing economies will outdo the G7 if they manages to mend the loopholes regarding transparency, fairness and infrastructure development.

The survey predicted that with intensifying competitive cost pressure, companies across the world will resort to offshore services and manufacturing to lower cost and higher growth economies such as China and India.

The attractiveness of the Asian countries, the survey noted, is fast increasing, with one in five respondents intending to relocate all or part of its European activities outside the region to the Asian countries.

China attracts the interest of 50 percent of respondents currently undergoing a relocation search, while India is considered by 30 percent of voters, the survey said, cautioning that the mature economies in Europe are losing their hold on investors as the emerging economies of Asia are gaining further momentum.

Europe's attractiveness for foreign investors has declined significantly in 2007, though it has managed to maintain its lead as the most attractive global investment region, the survey said.

However, Asian countries will continue to attract more and more investors in the future because they offer high skilled labor power cost effectiveness and are a good base for Research and Development (R&D) activities.

Asia has shown a significant gain and narrowed the gap with Europe and in the list of preferred regions China has moved up to the second position this year, while India has secured fifth position in the league, the survey said.

Western Europe tops the chart with 55 percent respondents naming it as one of their most preferred business locations followed by China which received the vote of 48 percent respondents, the survey said.

Central and Eastern Europe grabbed the third position (39 percent vote) whilst the United States and Canada shared the fourth slot with 38 percent respondents voting in their favor for the preferred location for investments. India managed to hold on to the fifth position with 26 percent decision makers voting in its favor

The global business world has become increasingly multi-polar, the survey said, adding, the attractiveness of the traditional top ranked regions of Europe and North America is giving way to a rise in popularity of India and China.