BRIC

[Edit this paragraph] Name source

BRIC, a new word coined by economists of Goldman Sachs Investment Bank, connects Brazil, Russia, India and China. BRIC is the abbreviation of the English names of Brazil, Russian, Indian and China. Because the pronunciation of "BRIC" is similar to that of bricks, it is called "BRIC".

The concept of BRIC was first put forward by Goldman Sachs Securities Company. On June 65438+1 October1day, 2003, Goldman Sachs published a global economic report entitled "Dream with BRIC countries". Goldman Sachs estimates that Brazil will replace Italy's economic status in 2025 and surpass France in 20031; Russia's economic situation will surpass that of Britain in 2027 and Germany in 2028. By 2050, the world economic structure will be substantially reshuffled, and the world's six new economies will become China, the United States, India, Japan, Brazil and Russia. By then, the existing six major industrial countries will only be the United States and Japan. Jim O 'Neill, the global chief economist of Goldman Sachs, put forward this imaginative vocabulary on February 20th, 200011,and it quickly became popular all over the world, becoming the biggest prediction of global economic trend in the 2nd1century. O 'Neill's classic report, which has been quoted by the global economic circles so far, predicted that before 2050, the GDP of BRIC countries (the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada) would surpass G7, and China would replace the United States as the world's first economic power in 2039.

With the birth of this brand-new concept, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun led hundreds of heavyweight political and business people to launch "BRIC diplomacy"; In 2005, the G7 finance ministers' meeting invited representatives of BRIC countries to attend for the first time. Therefore, the global chessboard of multinational companies such as Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan has been redeployed. Judging from the current situation, the economic development speed of the BRIC countries is just the opposite of the alphabetical order of the word "BRIC". China is far ahead, followed by India and Russia, and Brazil is relatively tepid. From a broader perspective, the economic performance of at least the top three countries is enough to stand out among all G7 countries, and the annual "net growth" of Russia and India can exceed that of the Netherlands today. According to statistics, Russia's foreign exchange reserves have reached 280 billion US dollars, which has exceeded the sum of EU member states.

From May 14 to May 16, 2008, the first foreign ministers' meeting of BRIC countries was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia. During the meeting, the foreign ministers of the four countries held extensive discussions on the international economic and financial situation, energy security and environmental issues, disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, international trade and reform of international organizations. After the meeting, the foreign ministers of the BRIC countries will sign a joint statement, indicating the unified position of the four countries on urgent issues such as world development and international security.

[Edit this paragraph] Economic status quo

In 2007

According to the statistics of international economic authorities, the foreign exchange reserves of developing countries, especially emerging economies, have grown rapidly, accounting for 3/4 of the world's foreign exchange reserves in 2007. China, Russia and India are both big BRIC countries. The proportion of emerging economies in the global economy rose from 39.7% in 1990 to 48% in 2006. According to purchasing power parity, the contribution rate of BRIC countries to world economic growth has reached 50%. Apart from the development of "China Speed" in BRIC countries, the average annual growth rate of Indian economy has been around 6% ~ 7% for more than a decade, and reached 8.9% in 2007. China and India have become two of the three most attractive countries for investment in the world (the other is the United States, the most developed country at present). Russia's economy has also maintained rapid development in the past seven years, with an average annual GDP growth of 7.8%, gold foreign exchange reserves reaching US$ 404.8 billion, and foreign debts of more than US$ 200 billion left over from the disintegration of the Soviet Union basically paid off ahead of schedule and re-entered the ranks of the top ten economies in the world. Brazil's development is relatively slow, and its economic growth reached 4.4% in 2007.

[Edit this paragraph] The middle class

In the BRIC countries with sustained economic development, the rich class and the new rich class (middle class) are growing day by day with cities as the center.

According to the World Wealth Report issued by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini Consulting, in 2004, there were 98,000 people in Brazil whose financial assets exceeded US$ 6,543.8+0,000, an increase of 6.5% over the previous year. 88,000 people in Russia, an increase of 4.8%; There are about 70,000 people in India, an increase of14.8%; There are about 300,000 people in China, an increase of 4.5%. The rise of the wealthy class has increased the demand for high-end goods and various financial goods.

Brazil: Buy high-end real estate.

In Brazil, the rich, who account for only 1% of the population, have 50% of the national income, and the income gap between the rich and the poor is the largest in the world. Most rich people are big business operators in related industries such as iron ore or crude oil. They own luxury houses in big cities such as Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro and drive high-end imported cars such as Jaguar or Volvo. Many of them also own two cars, and the trend of buying high-end real estate is remarkable.

Russia: Favoring Mercedes-Benz.

After the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, many rich people in Russia started out by acquiring energy-related enterprises during the privatization of state-owned enterprises. The rich in Russia account for 4% ~ 5% of the total population. There are also many people who use the chaos after the disintegration of the former Soviet Union to engage in trade or illegal economic transactions and obtain huge wealth.

In addition, due to the sharp rise in the prices of crude oil and natural gas in recent years, among the people engaged in the energy industry, the newly rich people are constantly emerging. It is said that the newly rich people whose living standard is equal to that of Europe and America account for about 20% of the total population. Russian rich and new rich are almost all concentrated in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Among high-income people, the phenomenon of buying high-end goods such as cars attracts attention. They especially like Mercedes-Benz. The increase in the number of people buying houses has also boosted car sales.

Russians' demand for tourism is also increasing. With the increase of domestic tourists, the number of outbound tourists to Turkey, China and other neighboring countries has also increased rapidly. According to statistics, the number of Russians visiting China in 2004 increased by 29.8% compared with the previous year.

India: Join a health club

With the rapid economic development, India's new wealth with an annual income of more than 6.5438+0.8 million rupees is increasing year by year. The proportion of newly rich people in the total population has increased from 1. 1% 1985 to 200 1 year with 7.3%.

With the rise of the high-income class, expensive and durable consumer goods such as cars and household appliances are extremely popular. In addition, because Indians love sweets, and the wealthy class began to prefer European and American eating habits (preferring high-calorie foods), lack of exercise and excessive calorie intake led to an increase in obesity. In order to lose weight, some rich people join slimming clubs and pay high membership fees every month.

China: Demand for luxury goods has increased.

Focusing on the coastal areas with rapid economic development, the number of rich people in China is increasing rapidly. According to the list of China's 400 richest people published by Forbes magazine in 2005, most of them are concentrated in coastal cities.

From the perspective of industry types, seven of the former 10 richest people are real estate-related industry operators. It can be seen that the rise in real estate prices has spawned many rich people. In addition, the rich engaged in emerging information technology-related industries have also squeezed into the forefront of the rankings.

Among the rich people in China, people who have bought high-end houses account for a large proportion. They are also keen on personal travel and family travel. It is said that many rich people buy gold wares, brand-name clothes, high-definition multimedia, high-grade cosmetics and even expensive high-grade golf clubs in Hong Kong.

Rich people in China go to Hongkong to buy luxury goods, because they will be subject to higher taxes and may buy counterfeit products. According to a survey conducted by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the average spending of China mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong is HK$ 5,639, which is much higher than the average level in other regions.

The demand for eating out is also increasing. People in China always pay attention to diet, but now more and more families go to high-end restaurants on holidays. In addition, women love beauty more and more, and the demand for beauty salons, cosmetics, brand-name clothing and jewelry is also growing.

These four countries hold huge business opportunities.

Among the rich and newly rich in BRIC countries, it is common to use surplus funds to invest in the stock market. Due to the rising share prices of countries, their financial assets are accumulating rapidly. Large financial institutions in Japan, the United States and Europe have begun to enter these four countries, hoping to absorb the financial assets of the rich and the newly rich. In the populous BRIC countries, the rich and the newly rich still have room for further growth, and because of their underdeveloped capital markets, these four countries contain huge business opportunities for financial institutions in developed countries.

BRIC countries represent the future economic scale and importance. According to this report, in 2050, the gross domestic product of these BRIC countries will exceed that of the six major industrial countries, and their stock market value will increase 66 times. They will have a middle class population of 800 million, more than the middle classes in the United States, Western Europe and Japan combined. They will play a leading role in the three major markets of energy, natural resources and capital, and become the most important consumer market in the world.