A friend at Intel Capital working in Belgium just forwarded me a newsletter of Olga de Meester working at the American Chamber of commerce in Belgium.
The text sounded:
"Did you know that Belgium was the world's leading per capita foreign investment recipient?"
Really? Numbers please? How much free float market capitalization is that? Brazil is now the 10th largest market in the world on the MCSI All Country World index, with a free float market capitalization of 509,1 billion US$, surpassing China.
"Did you know that over 900 US companies are active in Belgium?"
No. But that figure is completely insignificant. What turnover did they account for? And more importantly, how much did that turnover grow in 2007 and in Q1 2008?
"Did you know that Belgium has been elected as the second best country in Europe for foreign investments after Austria"?
No. Selected by whom? And based on which parameters? What I do know is that Belgium ranks third worst in the Forbes Tax Misery Index which was just published. More than beer and chocolate, tax misery (or rather, the lack of it) is what pleases companies in a country.
I could go on, but it's all a bit painful.
Some people think that I like bashing against Belgium whilst waving with my Brazilian flag. I don't think in black and white statements; Brazil will have its hard times the coming years and the country is far from perfect. That being said, the trend is obvious though: Belgium will even have a harder time. And Belgians just fail to understand how bad it will truly be.
I just read this excellent article the foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, India and China meetingin Moscow in Spring 2008 to discuss issues of mutual interest in the international arena as also those relating to trade, development and financial system. The G7 countries are not invited. By 2050, I'll have my grandfathers age by then, the 4 BRIC countries will grow to outstrip the currently dominant members of the global economy, G-6, (US, Britain, France, Japan, Germany and Italy). But already much earlier will we feel the consequences of those giants breathing in our neck. And meanwhile, we do everything except preparing for our new, less comfortable position in this world.
