Old Europe.\u00a0 Young Asia.<\/p>\n
Can Paris \u2013 Turin \u2013 Munich compete with Hanoi \u2013 Kuala Lumpur \u2013 Singapore?<\/p>\n
These are some of the cities that I have visited in Europe and Asia in the last 2 months.\u00a0\u00a0 The contrast is sharp.\u00a0 Asia will lead the world tomorrow.\u00a0 No doubt about that.\u00a0 Not only 60% of the world’s population lives there, but people are young, motivated and keen to make a better life for themselves.<\/p>\n
Actually this has been my first return to Asia after 10 years of absence for me.\u00a0 10 years ago, Asia was booming.\u00a0 Today, it still is.<\/p>\n
OK, growing when you come from a lower level is easier.\u00a0\u00a0 Whereas in a saturated market, creating growth is a different kind of challenge.\u00a0 Maybe you can call this the \u201c99th<\/sup> floor syndrome\u201d.\u00a0 When your office is already on the 99th<\/sup> floor and used to be on the 100th<\/sup>, it is hard to rebound.\u00a0 Whereas anybody on the 1st<\/sup> floor will do what it takes to move up.<\/p>\n In our open and interconnected world, you would have thought that European companies can create a lot more value-added than is currently reported in our GDP statistics.\u00a0 I have not checked on GNP, but knowing our politicians, if GNP were growing significantly faster than GDP, they would use GNP instead of GDP as the prime measure of economic performance \u2013 which is not the case.<\/p>\n So who benefits from European firms manufacturing goods in low cost countries and expanding fast by serving the needs of the middle class in emerging markets?<\/p>\n Certainly not European workers (blue and white collar alike).\u00a0 If they had to make a choice between the loss of their jobs on one hand, or giving back most of the household items \u201cmade in this low cost country\u201c on the other, I am sure they would prefer to keep their jobs.<\/p>\n Shareholders are much better off.\u00a0 If you think that Europe has not grown substantially in the last 30 years \u2013 annual real term growth has rarely exceeded more than few percent \u2013 then stock markets have grown a lot more in comparison, even in real terms.\u00a0 \u00a0Take the DAX Total Return index for example, which started with a base value of 1000 on 30th December 1987.\u00a0\u00a0 For most of the year 2010, the DAX has oscillated around 6000 points.\u00a0\u00a0 This gives an average growth rate of 8.1% over the period 1987-2010.\u00a0 In real terms, the growth has been lower, maybe 5-6% only. Not bad either.\u00a0 At 7% growth per annum, you double your wealth in 10 years.<\/p>\n What are the implications for workers?\u00a0 Either go to Asia to get your share of the growth there, or stay at home and invest in the stock market.\u00a0 Or both.<\/p>\n Don’t wait for politicians to help you.\u00a0 They can’t.\u00a0 Don’t believe that politicians have much influence on the course of events.\u00a0 They don’t \u2013 they only have influence on the course of their career.\u00a0 So take your future in your hands, and get your share of the Asian cake. \u00a0Help yourself, and god will help you.<\/p>\n Asia is where the music is playing now, and you need to be there. \u00a0While a wealth transfer between the developed and the developing world is silently taking place in the background, being active and putting some of your stakes in Asia will help you get some of the wealth back.<\/p>\n If you are (still) employed and work for someone else, make sure you make enough money to become a shareholder.\u00a0 If your salary is not high enough, then save money and put it in the stock market.\u00a0 Investing in a couple of stock indices is your best bet, as you will pay close to no fee and get decent returns over a period of 10 years and more.<\/p>\n If you can’t put money aside to invest in the stock market, you have a problem.\u00a0 Then stop being an employee.\u00a0 Think about setting up your own business.\u00a0 Start small and grow it over time.\u00a0 If you survive the first 3 years, then you are on the good track and can be confident that you will make more money in the long-term than before.\u00a0 Even if you have to give up and get back to an employee position, your short-term entrepreneur experience will turn out to be life-changing none-the-less.\u00a0 Your will see things with new eyes and be able to find opportunities that you did not see before.\u00a0 Create your own luck.<\/p>\n So will Europe ever rebound?\u00a0 In the short-term it won’t.\u00a0 Because we need a mind-set change in society, and this is a slow moving process.<\/p>\n It probably gets down to you and your willingness to make a better life for yourself.\u00a0\u00a0 When enough people get the message, then Europe will be on the right track again.<\/p>\n Go to Asia:\u00a0 spend a couple of days in Singapore, KL and Hanoi.\u00a0 The experience will open your eyes.\u00a0 It might scare you \u2013 for the better. \u00a0Your politicians have been there, and they have seen it, but they are scared to tell you the truth. \u00a0So wake-up and go there yourself!<\/p>\n And by the way: the food is cheap … and excellent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Old Europe.\u00a0 Young Asia. Can Paris \u2013 Turin \u2013 Munich compete with Hanoi \u2013 Kuala Lumpur \u2013 Singapore? These are some of the cities that I have visited in Europe and Asia in the last 2 months.\u00a0\u00a0 The contrast is… <\/p>\n