Global economic change

During the last 10 years many new economies had gained positions on the Forbes list of 2000 biggest public companies. It´s China, India, Russia and Brazil, as well as central European countries like Poland, Hungary and the Czech republic. We also see increase in some of the Middle Eastern countries like Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Biggest losers on the lists are USA, Japan and UK, while they still have a huge portion of the biggest companies, but it is evident that wealth are spreading around the world.

During this important period of re-distribution of wealth  – Greece didn´t  make any success at all – instead they lost positions on the list. Greece is in the grip of an everlasting crisis, while other neighbouring countries like Turkey are gaining in.

The problems are not all about the imbalances of the common currency. Greece is a country of regulations, monopoly and nepotism. The sharp success stories of free market economy did not really reach Athens to a larger extent.

We must bear this in mind, what ever may the outcome of this weeks financial turmoil. Even if the Greeks leave the Euro-zone, and take control over their finances and launches a new currency, they will have big troubles repairing the economy with old and blunt tools.

So, over to Cyprus.

The small state only has one company on the list, it´s Bank of Cyprus on position 1875.

The big question for us is living on the island – does Cyprus belong to the new emerging economies – or to the declining old ones?

/Robert Toth