Forbes has just issued its list of billionaires for 2011 and it makes interesting reading. I’ll admit that I struggle with understanding what it would be like to be a billionaire and, even if I were lucky enough to win the entire triple rollover Euromillions pot, I would still be absolutely nowhere near being a billionaire. On the "in it to win it" concept I have already bought my ticket and I will be making no rash promises to share my winnings with you as Nicholas Cage did to the waitress Bridget Fonda in It Could Happen to You. I am, however, very interested in the geographic spread of the billionaires.
I’m sure it will come as no surprise to you that China saw an increase in its number of billionaires but it is pretty amazing that it doubled its tally year on year to a staggering 115. Russia and Brazil saw two thirds increases in their billionaires to 101 and 30 respectively and India saw its number edge up to 55, with each individual having a significantly higher personal net worth than most countries.
To put this into context, the UK has 32 billionaires. Indonesia, a country I know well from living there, now has 14, rapidly catching up with the UK. The point is that growth in prosperity is dramatically shifting to the emerging and high growth markets - predominantly in Asia. Many futurologists were predicting this some time ago, as I was myself, but I think all of us have been surprised by the pace of the shift and it is imperative that business has a strategy to take advantage of the terrific opportunities from the emerging economies or we in the UK risk being left behind.
Export of goods from the UK in January rose by nearly 6% and this is excellent progress, shrinking the trade deficit for the month considerably. In China, they recorded their first trade deficit for a year with imports up by an amazing 19%. The UK is in a much better position to increase its exports with a competitive pound and with demand for imports increasing in many of our target markets, and we need to see a step change in how the UK goes about growing its exports. Yes, there is growth in some developed markets but it is surely now clear that for any company to see sizeable growth in the future it has to have a strategy for emerging markets.
If I am lucky enough to be a big winner on Friday night, I will send one more valedictory blog but if not, I will return with more encouragement for business to grow its exports and grow the prosperity of the nation. After all, if I can’t rely on a lottery win to protect my future, I really need the economy to grow so that my pension pot will be sufficient to provide for me in my dotage.