Emerging economies, particularly those in Asia, will rule the world in the next 10 to 20 years, according to an official of logistics firm Expeditors International.
"The world will look different in 2030 with the continued shift in wealth distribution," Barthul Hoefnagels, Regional Manager Network Solutions Group, Asia at Expeditors International, said at the 2010 Intermodal and Global Supply Chain Business Conference held at the Philippine Ports Authority office late last week.
Hoefnagels noted that emerging economies, including China, Korea, India and Dubai, are poised to soon zoom past economic world powers such as the United States and Japan.
"Emerging countries of today will be developed economies in the future and 20 to 30 years from now the world will be different from what we know today," Hoefnagels said.
The shift from traditional to emerging markets also presents huge business opportunities, he added. "China is one of the biggest markets expected to take the top spot in terms of GDP (gross domestic product) within the decade over the United States and Japan."
For the Philippines, Hoefnagels said the country should concentrate on developing its intermodal infrastructure and address glaring bottlenecks in order to attract more foreign investments.
He also urged the country to harness its manpower rather than cultivate a policy of exporting labor.
Earlier, an intermodal expert urged the country to shift its focus from traditional to non-traditional markets such as South America in order to broaden its market for sourcing and exports.
