A recent trend across the spectrum of large, multi-national corporations in the United States and Europe is the emergence of "new world" economies, such as the Chinese economy, for these corporations. These "new world" economies are where growth in consumption is likely to come from, and is therefore where market opportunities lie.

Economic growth projections for 2011 are expected to be about 2.2% for the world’s seven largest developed nations, compared with 6.1% in emerging markets (such as China with 8.7%, India with 8.2% and Indonesia with 6.5%).

Closer to home, many Australian companies are focusing on emerging markets as a key growth area. If you have visited Vietnam recently will have noticed a rapidly increasing number of ANZ bank ATM’s and branches around the country.

Greater populations in countries such as China and India compared to the US, in addition to improving standards of living in these countries is fuelling this demand. Even modest increases in the proportion of people who can afford to buy more consumer goods will lead to a significant increase in the number of potential customers for Western companies with global ventures operating.

For local investors seeking to gain exposure in these emerging economies, we recommend accessing this growth by buying the large multinational industry leaders listed in the US, UK and Europe that have international businesses operating in these markets.

They have the ability to take advantage of low funding costs in their home markets, because of historically low interest rates, and are able to re-invest this capital in high growth offshore markets that offer much more attractive returns.

Another much lower risk way of accessing emerging markets is to buy big blue chips in developed markets. The transparency of their operations is greater; they have more developed reporting standards, as well as stronger governance and shareholder protections.

Some of these companies have benefited in recent years from the weak US dollar, as their offshore earnings have been translated back to US dollars at favorable exchange rates. It could be argued that should the US dollar begin to rise, this may pose risks for non-US earnings. This is true, although it could also be said that for New Zealand investors, such an impact would likely be accompanied by an increase in the value of any overseas investments (because the US dollar would also likely rise against the NZ dollar).

To conclude we have noted some examples of well known global companies who have already taken advantage of setting up business ventures in these ‘new world’ economies. BHP Billiton, the Australian mining giant, is one of the best examples of a company that is exposed to growth in emerging economies.

ANZ remains the only Australasian bank with an exposure to the exceptional growth opportunities available in Asia. To date, ANZ has made small investments in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Guam.

Unilever is a UK-based company that manufactures branded and packaged consumer goods. In 2010 the company generated more than half of its turnover in Asia, Africa, Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America.

US multinational 3M produces a very diversified range of industrial, consumer and healthcare products. 3M is well established in emerging markets, having operated in Brazil for more than 50 years, and is focusing on further growth in these regions.

The technology giant Apple continues to benefit from the strongest product offering in its history and is seeing massive global demand for its iPads and iPhones. Its international expansion is paying dividends, especially in China, and Apple’s sales in the Asia Pacific region have grown 175% in the past twelve months.