Croatia’s profile

Investing on Croatia is on the rise, Since 2000, Croatia has been one of Central Europe’s fastest growing economies. Its main foreign trade partners are Italy and Germany. The main interest for investment comes from Europeans, italian banks have been participating in bank privatization, and the Germans and Austrians have put a stake in the banks as well. Latest figures put GDP growth at 34% in 2005. Inflation stands at 3.4%.
Although Croatia’s history is ancient, on the economic front, it’s still pretty much a brand-new country. Although the pace of reform has been slow –progress is beening made towared implementing structure. Nearly two-thirds of the Croatian economy has now been made private, and around 90% of bank assets are privately owned, mostly by strategic foreign investors.

Australia’s country profile

Political Forces. Australia is a federal democracy that is a commonwealth of Great Brittan. Queen Elizabeth is their Head of State and elections for their government for positions like Prime Minister and seats in the Senate and House are conducted every three years. Within the Prime Ministers team there is a cabinet of members that are delegated specific titles and tasks, much like our cabinet within the Presidential administration in the U.S. The main political parties within Australia are the Labor Party, Liberal Party, National Party and Australian Democrats.

Dubai’s profile: Not-so-hot property

People assume that Dubai would be the last place that would be affected by the financial crisis; however, that is not the case. The United Arab Emirates cash is held by all of the ruling families and their wealth funds. Though oil is a big source of revenue for people in Dubai, Sheikh Muhammad bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, has been exploiting real estate and development instead. For example, investors in Dubai property have been seeing 80% returns since early last year.
Last summer, Morgan Stanley issued a note saying that there would be a decrease of 10% in Dubai property prices by 2010.

Japan’s profile

Japan’s political structure is run by legislative and executive powers which are vested in parliament, which has an upper and lower house. The Liberal Democratic Party currently governs in coalition with a smaller party, New Komeito. Japan’s deregulation and liberalization are important policy issues, but the pace of change has been slow. The rapid aging of the population has implications for the structure of the future labor force, the savings rate and the government budget. The government’s finances are in overall poor shape.

Vietnam’s country profile

According to The Economist, “The ruling Communist Party of Vietnam will continue to dictate the political agenda and will maintain its grip on power in 2009-13.” The Prime Minister, Nguyen Tan Dung, is set to remain in office for a full term.

Czech Republic’s country profile

The Czech Republic, one of the successors of Czechoslovakia, emerged in 1993 after the “Velvet Revolution”. Currently, executive power is held by the Prime Minister and each president is elected for a term of five years. Even though the Czech Republic is part of the EU they do not use the currency of the euro, but opt to use the koruna. Even though Czechs current state is stable and strong, due to insights and studies about the future, I would be hesitant to invest in their market.

Germany’s country profile

With the economy being in such a slump these days, Germany seems to have better prospects than other Euro area countries because of its low household indebtedness and the absence of a recent property boom, which will reduce the likelihood of sharp falls in property prices. In September 2009, the coalition between the Christian Democratic Union, Christian Social Union, and the Social Democratic Party will end its parliamentary term and it is forecasted that the next to take that position will be the Christian Democratic Union, which will allow them to ally with two other parties which will allow for more say in policies.