EMERGING market nations are the most important contributors to global economic growth – and that’s official!

HSBC’s latest Emerging Markets Insights report shows that the US and Western Europe are no longer driving global economic growth as economic power shifts East.

As the world heaves itself out of the global crisis, emerging markets will continue to lead the way, our recent report predicts.

The data suggests emerging markets’ GDP will grow at 6.2% in 2010 compared to 1.9% for developed economies.

China is the driving force behind much of the success.

Its policy of supporting infrastructure projects, such as roads, railways and hospitals has boosted the export earnings of countries which supply the commodities, many of them also emerging nations.

For China to maintain this rate of growth, it is widely recognised that domestic consumption needs to be stimulated.

The Chinese have traditionally been high household savers, but as the Chinese government shifts expenditure into social welfare, consumers feel confident in saving less and spending more, presenting opportunities in virtually every sector.

The past few years have seen an increasing number of companies of all sizes successfully exporting to, and investing in, emerging economies such as China although understandably, trading overseas can seem extremely daunting to businesses new to the market.

At HSBC we have a team of specialists available to advise you on developing an appropriate strategy for your business to mitigate some of those risks.

For further details, or if you would like a copy of our Emerging Market Insights Report, email davidmenaghan@hsbc.com