Country Analysis

For this project, you are asked to write a comprehensive report on the business environment in a particular country. In your analysis, take the perspective of a U.S. investor or U.S.-based firm. The project objective is to develop an understanding of the business culture and the process of doing business in a foreign country.

This project is not designed to be a term paper in which the views of others are simply summarized. You are the analyst, and it is your job to integrate relevant information and to form your own opinions and views. And you will need to place yourself in the position of a manager responsible for expansion into a new country and business environment.

This project will require you to analyze data. Potential data sources for the project are available at the end of this assignment.

In order to provide a comprehensive analysis of the business environment in your country, each report must address the factors listed below. The analysis should cover the last five years, or as constrained by information limitations.

The primary focus should be on more recent events (Present to 2 years).

1. Important Events and Country Background (General Background):
In this section your group should review general background information concerning your country (i.e., location, size, population, resources etc …). This section should include a brief time-line of the main historical events. Basic economic and financial market issue should include such as issues as monetary policy, exchange rates, sovereign debt or defaults, or other import market background. This analysis should not exceed two pages.

3. Doing Business Analysis
One of the key issues a firm has when it enters a new market is the ease of doing business in this new market. In this section provide a detailed analysis of the business environment in the country you have selected. This analysis should look at macro issues related to the legal framework, ease of entry into the market, and rules and regulations applying to foreign owned firms including ownership rules and repatriation of profits from the foreign country.
At the micro level examine the ease of starting a business, registering property, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, employing workers, and paying taxes. These factors interact for time and cost to start and run a business and help to shape the local business environment. Another set of important factors for the business environment are related to the legal and practical issue related to getting credit, protecting investors, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency. As the main interest of this country analysis your group should consider the ease of trading across borders and international financial transactions.