Risks and opportunities for emerging markets: The cases of India and China

Nowadays, the re-emergence of China and India as influential economic powers is commonly accepted as a fact. However, the path taken by each of the two countries over the past 15 years in order for them to reach the highest growth rates in the world has been quite different. In the case of China, much of the macroeconomic growth can be attributed (at least from the 1990s onwards) to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). In India, meanwhile, the organic or autonomous development of businesses and consumption are the two main factors that have boosted the growth of GDP. Based on this premise, this article enumerates and explores the main economic, political, environmental and social challenges that must be dealt with in each case, thus presenting a panoramic view of each country’s impending economic and political agenda. Finally, and by way of a conclusion, the article tackles the most important challenges and opportunities for investment in the two countries.