It has been 10 years since Jim O’Neill introduced his memorable BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economic grouping. The term has since been branded into the financial community’s collective conscience as its constituent members developed at a pace which even Mr O’Neill might have struggled to predict, while growth in the West slumped amid harsh economic conditions.
As a result, competition for a piece of the 'big four' has intensified and money-making opportunities are harder to come by than they once were. In response, banks and investors are looking further afield, and seeking to forge links with other emerging financial centres positioned for growth. Some eyes are cast towards Robert Ward of the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Civets (Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa), others look elsewhere in Asia, Latin America or eastern Europe as well as the well-developed but sometimes thorny Middle East or the untapped potential of much of Africa.
