Emerging Markets Multinationals Report 2025: New Rules, New Opportunities
Other Titles
New Rules, New Opportunities
Author
Casanova, Lourdes
Miroux, Anne
Abstract
In this 2025 edition of EMI’s Emerging Market Multinationals Report, we celebrate the publication of our 10th edition. Under the title, New Rules, New Opportunities, the report examines the transformations in the global political environment in recent years and their impact on emerging markets. We also analyze leading companies from emerging economies and trace the evolution of their foreign investment strategies, with a particular focus on greenfield and cross-border mergers and acquisitions.
Description
Chapter 1. New Rules, New Opportunities for Emerging Markets
Lourdes Casanova, Cornell University, United States
Anne Miroux, Cornell University, United States
As the Emerging Markets Institute celebrates its 15th anniversary and the EMI Report reaches its 10th edition, this opening chapter extends the reflections initiated in 2023 on the increasing role of governments in the economy—not only in emerging markets but across the globe. It also explores how emerging economies are increasingly shaping the global landscape, underscoring their capacity to drive innovation and redefine international dynamics. It builds upon the 2024 edition, which highlighted the remarkable social and economic progress of emerging markets in the first quarter of the new millennium.
We examine how the “new rules” of global trade and technology—characterized by protectionism, multipolarity, and shifting supply chains—can be transformed into opportunities for emerging markets and for the Global South as a whole. Through this analysis, the EMI Report seeks to identify the conditions that enable emerging economies to sustain inclusive growth, strengthen innovation, and play a more decisive role in shaping global business environment.
Chapter 2. Chinese Companies continue to Grow
Lourdes Casanova, Cornell University, United States
Anne Miroux, Cornell University, United States
As in previous years, Chapter 2 examines the big Emerging Market Multinationals by revenues analyzing the Fortune Global 500 list, as well as the billionaire companies, those with revenues exceeding USD1 billion. Europe, the United States and China dominate both lists. Amongst Emerging Markets, Chinese firms illustrate China’s economic power. The presence of China among corporate giants dwarfs that of other emerging economies but a slight increase in the number of billionaire firms from these countries suggest the emergence, though modest, of new champions from these regions.
Chapter 3. Investment Flows Moving South
Lourdes Casanova, Cornell University, United States
Anne Miroux, Cornell University, United States
The past quarter century has seen a dramatic transformation in the role of emerging market multinationals (EMNCs) in global foreign direct investment (FDI), both as recipients and as investors. Up to the end of the 20th century, emerging economies were seen primarily as destinations for FDI from developed nations. Multinational corporations from advanced economies were driven to emerging markets by their lower labor costs, abundant natural resources, and expanding domestic markets, establishing manufacturing hubs, extracting resources, and tapping into new consumer bases. During the first decades of the 21st century, emerging markets have continued to attract increasing amounts of foreign direct investment, adopting policies and creating institutions aimed at promoting FDI. Yet, it is their remarkable rise as outward investors—with some emerging-market multinationals now standing amongst the world’s most powerful companies—that stands out as a defining feature of the past quarter-century's FDI landscape. By challenging the long-standing dominance of Western multinationals, their rise has profoundly transformed global economics and politics. This chapter illustrates such a shift, focusing on emerging markets as outward FDI investors and the evolving patterns of such FDI.
Chapter 4. Greening Emerging Markets, Unlocking Private Investment
Lorenzo Pavone, Emerging Markets Network (Emnet), OECD Development Centre, France
Advancing the green transition in emerging markets is both a necessity and an opportunity but the challenges, especially financing constraints, remain significant. At the same time, the urgency of climate action means that delays in mobilising capital will deepen economic vulnerabilities and widen development gaps. Highlighting the potential of the private sector for the green transition in emerging markets, this chapter identifies recommendations for governments and businesses to enhance the green transition by attracting quality and sustainable investment to emerging markets - with a specific focus on Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
Chapter 5. World Bank Group’s Transformation in a Shifting Global Economic Landscape
Momina Aijazuddin, International Finance Corporation (IFC), United States
Mehmet Akgunay, International Finance Corporation (IFC), United States
Rafia Saleem, International Finance Corporation (IFC), United States
Shivani Komma, International Finance Corporation (IFC), United States
The paper examines how the World Bank Group (WBG) is transforming to remain effective amid a rapidly changing global economic environment. Focusing on its private sector arm - the International Finance Corporation (IFC)— It highlights how the WBG is adapting its strategies to mobilize private capital, foster job creation, and scale innovative development finance. Through case studies, the paper illustrates IFC’s successful and impactful deployment of innovative financing solutions and shows that adaptability, innovation, and partnership with the private sector are essential for the WBG to continue driving sustainable development.
Chapter 6. International Investment in the Digital Economy: the Role of Leading Global Digital MNEs
Nan Li Collins, Director, Division on Investment and Enterprise, UN Trade and Development, Switzerland
Amelia U. Santos-Paulino, Chief, Investment Issues and Analysis, Division on Investment and Enterprise, UN Trade and Development
Claudia Trentini, Economic Affairs Officer, Investment Issues and Analysis, Division on Investment and Enterprise, UN Trade and Development
This chapter examines global investment trends in the digital economy, with a focus on the role of leading multinational enterprises (MNEs). Drawing on analysis from UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2025, it highlights the concentration of foreign direct investment in the digital economy within developed economies and a few large emerging markets, the rise of South–South flows, and a shift toward infrastructure-intensive investment models. While digital MNEs from China, India, and other emerging markets are expanding internationally, their global reach remains constrained by the dominance of leading firms and growing geopolitical fragmentation. Policy action is essential to ensure an inclusive and sustainable digital transformation.
Chapter 7. Innovation and Global Rebalancing: Defense Spending and Corruption Across Geopolitical Alliances
Veneta Andonova, Universidad de los Andes School of Management, Colombia
Juana Garcia, Universidad de los Andes School of Management, Colombia
Juan Sebastian Trujillo, London School of Economics, UK
Is the geopolitical ambition of the emerging economies from the Global South supported by their innovation capabilities and the related dynamics in defense and corruption?
This chapter adopts a comparative perspective to analyze countries’ performance in innovation focusing on four alliances – G7, the EU, BRICS+ and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Using data from 2011 to 2024, we present evidence supporting the hypothesis of a positive and long-term relationship between innovation and defense spending in SCO countries. Additionally, arms transfers (both arms imports and exports) are associated with enhanced innovation capability in SCO countries, suggesting a mutually reinforcing link between industrial defense capacity and innovation. By contrast, in the G7, higher exported military technology is associated with fewer innovation outcomes. Corruption adds further complexity. In G7, lower perception of corruption correlates with greater innovation capabilities, while in the EU, stronger control of corruption shows a positive association with innovation. For BRICS+ and the SCO members, control and perception of corruption are not found to have a statistically significant effect on innovation dynamics. These findings suggest that the global innovation landscape is in profound flux and that it impacts military and defense dimensions, besides the economic ones, to produce a global rebalancing, inviting for a reflection on the definition of an emerging economy. Understanding these dynamics is essential for helping policymakers and researchers identify the realms of future global competition and collaboration.
Chapter 8. The Ascendence of Emerging Economies: A Thirty-Year Transformation Caught by Geopolitical Tensions
Alicia García Herrero, Adjunct Professor at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Asia Pacific Chief Economist at Natixis
Jeremy Ji, Research assistant at Natixis, Hong Kong, China
This chapter examines the mechanisms behind the rise of emerging markets over the past three decades, with a particular focus on both inward and outward FDI dynamics. It emphasizes however, that this ascent was supported by a globalized system that is now giving way to a more fragmented environment, where investment decisions are increasingly shaped by strategic and security considerations. While favorable demographics, expanding domestic consumer markets, and growing leadership in key technologies may help emerging economies to navigate this challenge, their future success will hinge on their ability to combine internal consolidation—by strengthening domestic institutions and macroeconomic frameworks—with external adaptation strategies. These include, among others, the internationalization of domestic firms and the deepening of regional integration.
Chapter 9. Indonesian Multinationals: More than Meets the Eye
Andrea Goldstein, on leave from the OECD
This paper investigates the dynamics of Indonesian multinationals through the analysis of statistics and selected short case studies. The paper shows that modest corporate internationalization is in line with other globalization indicators. It also distinguishes two typologies of big business in Indonesia, one pivoted on privileged relationship-based market access and one on industry-specific business skills. In the latter, corporate governance has improved and ties have become more formal, thus supporting international expansion. In the former, insufficient attention to transparency and graft prevalence have led to deteriorating operational and financial performance, thus hindering internationalization.
Chapter 10. The Rising Role of Private Actors in the Structural Change of China’s OFDI
Yuexing Xie , School of Economics, Center for Research on China Open Economy, Zhejiang University. China
Gaoju Yang, School of Economics, Center for Research on China Open Economy, Zhejiang University.China
Amid rising global trade barriers and geopolitical uncertainty, China has been significantly affected in both inward and outward foreign direct investment (FDI). To cope with protectionist pressures, China’s OFDI has shifted domestically toward central and western regions and externally toward emerging markets. With overseas M&A constrained, overseas engineering contracting has become a new growth driver. More importantly, market-oriented reforms have reshaped the composition of China’s OFDI: private enterprises, though individually weaker, are strengthening their role by expanding collectively and engaging across entire value chains. State-owned enterprises, by contrast, remain focused on upstream resources such as energy and minerals, reflecting national strategic priorities. At the same time, reforms to reduce administrative monopolies, improve market mechanisms, and enhance institutional transparency are accelerating, laying the foundation for a more resilient and sustainable outward investment system.
Chapter 11. Turning East: China’s Growing Role in the Pacific Alliance
Lorena Palacios, EGADE, Tec de Monterrey, Mexico
Jahir Lombana-Coy, Universidad del Norte, Colombia
This chapter explores China’s expanding economic and geopolitical footprint within the Pacific Alliance—comprising Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru—and its implications for trade, investment, and regional integration. Since 2000, China’s rise has reshaped global and hemispheric relations, positioning it as a key Latin American partner through projects such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI 2.0). The study finds that China has become the second-largest trading partner of the Alliance, boosting exports but reinforcing dependence on primary commodities, particularly in Chile and Peru. In contrast, Mexico and Colombia sustain closer economic ties with the United States, creating asymmetries and strategic tensions within the bloc.
Chinese foreign direct investment has diversified beyond resource extraction into infrastructure, logistics, and manufacturing, with emblematic projects including Chile’s CGE acquisition, Colombia’s Bogotá Metro, Peru’s Chancay Port, and Mexico’s JAC automotive expansion. These ventures enhance regional connectivity and financing access but also raise concerns about sustainability, governance, and technological dependence. Amid renewed trade uncertainty, China tries to rebalance its external relations. The chapter concludes that the Pacific Alliance must pursue a cohesive regional strategy that leverages Chinese engagement while mitigating dependency, ensuring diversification, and strengthening its global positioning.
Chapter 12. Fragmented Globalization, Unified Access: The Evolving Role of Depositary Receipts in a Multipolar Market
Guy Gresham, Board Advisor; Former Group Head of Global Investor Relations Advisory & Investor Solutions, Depositary Receipts, BNY, United States
Amid increasing regulatory divergence and geopolitical tension, Depositary Receipts (DRs) remain a consistent mechanism connecting emerging-market issuers with global investors. Once used primarily for market access, DRs now serve as established tools for comparability, governance assurance, and investor protection. Drawing on market data, evidence of investor behavior, and practitioner perspectives from global issuers and depositary institutions, this paper examines how the DR framework has evolved over time and identifies the factors that define program success today. It argues that, in a fragmented global financial system, depositary receipts continue to provide stable, regulated channels for cross-border investment and remain integral to maintaining the infrastructure of global capital-market connectivity.
Chapter 13 Opinion Piece. The Challenges of Regulating AI in Emerging Markets.
Georges Ugeux, Columbia University
Underscoring the diversity of contexts in which AI operates, this opinion piece contends that there is no need to create a new set of regulations for governing AI. AI is not a technology that deserves a single regulatory approach. Instead, firms and other economic actors should incorporate AI into existing regulatory frameworks. Strengthening regulatory cooperation and coherence—across disciplines and across countries—will be essential for emerging economies to truly benefit from AI.
Lourdes Casanova, Cornell University, United States
Anne Miroux, Cornell University, United States
As the Emerging Markets Institute celebrates its 15th anniversary and the EMI Report reaches its 10th edition, this opening chapter extends the reflections initiated in 2023 on the increasing role of governments in the economy—not only in emerging markets but across the globe. It also explores how emerging economies are increasingly shaping the global landscape, underscoring their capacity to drive innovation and redefine international dynamics. It builds upon the 2024 edition, which highlighted the remarkable social and economic progress of emerging markets in the first quarter of the new millennium.
We examine how the “new rules” of global trade and technology—characterized by protectionism, multipolarity, and shifting supply chains—can be transformed into opportunities for emerging markets and for the Global South as a whole. Through this analysis, the EMI Report seeks to identify the conditions that enable emerging economies to sustain inclusive growth, strengthen innovation, and play a more decisive role in shaping global business environment.
Chapter 2. Chinese Companies continue to Grow
Lourdes Casanova, Cornell University, United States
Anne Miroux, Cornell University, United States
As in previous years, Chapter 2 examines the big Emerging Market Multinationals by revenues analyzing the Fortune Global 500 list, as well as the billionaire companies, those with revenues exceeding USD1 billion. Europe, the United States and China dominate both lists. Amongst Emerging Markets, Chinese firms illustrate China’s economic power. The presence of China among corporate giants dwarfs that of other emerging economies but a slight increase in the number of billionaire firms from these countries suggest the emergence, though modest, of new champions from these regions.
Chapter 3. Investment Flows Moving South
Lourdes Casanova, Cornell University, United States
Anne Miroux, Cornell University, United States
The past quarter century has seen a dramatic transformation in the role of emerging market multinationals (EMNCs) in global foreign direct investment (FDI), both as recipients and as investors. Up to the end of the 20th century, emerging economies were seen primarily as destinations for FDI from developed nations. Multinational corporations from advanced economies were driven to emerging markets by their lower labor costs, abundant natural resources, and expanding domestic markets, establishing manufacturing hubs, extracting resources, and tapping into new consumer bases. During the first decades of the 21st century, emerging markets have continued to attract increasing amounts of foreign direct investment, adopting policies and creating institutions aimed at promoting FDI. Yet, it is their remarkable rise as outward investors—with some emerging-market multinationals now standing amongst the world’s most powerful companies—that stands out as a defining feature of the past quarter-century's FDI landscape. By challenging the long-standing dominance of Western multinationals, their rise has profoundly transformed global economics and politics. This chapter illustrates such a shift, focusing on emerging markets as outward FDI investors and the evolving patterns of such FDI.
Chapter 4. Greening Emerging Markets, Unlocking Private Investment
Lorenzo Pavone, Emerging Markets Network (Emnet), OECD Development Centre, France
Advancing the green transition in emerging markets is both a necessity and an opportunity but the challenges, especially financing constraints, remain significant. At the same time, the urgency of climate action means that delays in mobilising capital will deepen economic vulnerabilities and widen development gaps. Highlighting the potential of the private sector for the green transition in emerging markets, this chapter identifies recommendations for governments and businesses to enhance the green transition by attracting quality and sustainable investment to emerging markets - with a specific focus on Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
Chapter 5. World Bank Group’s Transformation in a Shifting Global Economic Landscape
Momina Aijazuddin, International Finance Corporation (IFC), United States
Mehmet Akgunay, International Finance Corporation (IFC), United States
Rafia Saleem, International Finance Corporation (IFC), United States
Shivani Komma, International Finance Corporation (IFC), United States
The paper examines how the World Bank Group (WBG) is transforming to remain effective amid a rapidly changing global economic environment. Focusing on its private sector arm - the International Finance Corporation (IFC)— It highlights how the WBG is adapting its strategies to mobilize private capital, foster job creation, and scale innovative development finance. Through case studies, the paper illustrates IFC’s successful and impactful deployment of innovative financing solutions and shows that adaptability, innovation, and partnership with the private sector are essential for the WBG to continue driving sustainable development.
Chapter 6. International Investment in the Digital Economy: the Role of Leading Global Digital MNEs
Nan Li Collins, Director, Division on Investment and Enterprise, UN Trade and Development, Switzerland
Amelia U. Santos-Paulino, Chief, Investment Issues and Analysis, Division on Investment and Enterprise, UN Trade and Development
Claudia Trentini, Economic Affairs Officer, Investment Issues and Analysis, Division on Investment and Enterprise, UN Trade and Development
This chapter examines global investment trends in the digital economy, with a focus on the role of leading multinational enterprises (MNEs). Drawing on analysis from UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2025, it highlights the concentration of foreign direct investment in the digital economy within developed economies and a few large emerging markets, the rise of South–South flows, and a shift toward infrastructure-intensive investment models. While digital MNEs from China, India, and other emerging markets are expanding internationally, their global reach remains constrained by the dominance of leading firms and growing geopolitical fragmentation. Policy action is essential to ensure an inclusive and sustainable digital transformation.
Chapter 7. Innovation and Global Rebalancing: Defense Spending and Corruption Across Geopolitical Alliances
Veneta Andonova, Universidad de los Andes School of Management, Colombia
Juana Garcia, Universidad de los Andes School of Management, Colombia
Juan Sebastian Trujillo, London School of Economics, UK
Is the geopolitical ambition of the emerging economies from the Global South supported by their innovation capabilities and the related dynamics in defense and corruption?
This chapter adopts a comparative perspective to analyze countries’ performance in innovation focusing on four alliances – G7, the EU, BRICS+ and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Using data from 2011 to 2024, we present evidence supporting the hypothesis of a positive and long-term relationship between innovation and defense spending in SCO countries. Additionally, arms transfers (both arms imports and exports) are associated with enhanced innovation capability in SCO countries, suggesting a mutually reinforcing link between industrial defense capacity and innovation. By contrast, in the G7, higher exported military technology is associated with fewer innovation outcomes. Corruption adds further complexity. In G7, lower perception of corruption correlates with greater innovation capabilities, while in the EU, stronger control of corruption shows a positive association with innovation. For BRICS+ and the SCO members, control and perception of corruption are not found to have a statistically significant effect on innovation dynamics. These findings suggest that the global innovation landscape is in profound flux and that it impacts military and defense dimensions, besides the economic ones, to produce a global rebalancing, inviting for a reflection on the definition of an emerging economy. Understanding these dynamics is essential for helping policymakers and researchers identify the realms of future global competition and collaboration.
Chapter 8. The Ascendence of Emerging Economies: A Thirty-Year Transformation Caught by Geopolitical Tensions
Alicia García Herrero, Adjunct Professor at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Asia Pacific Chief Economist at Natixis
Jeremy Ji, Research assistant at Natixis, Hong Kong, China
This chapter examines the mechanisms behind the rise of emerging markets over the past three decades, with a particular focus on both inward and outward FDI dynamics. It emphasizes however, that this ascent was supported by a globalized system that is now giving way to a more fragmented environment, where investment decisions are increasingly shaped by strategic and security considerations. While favorable demographics, expanding domestic consumer markets, and growing leadership in key technologies may help emerging economies to navigate this challenge, their future success will hinge on their ability to combine internal consolidation—by strengthening domestic institutions and macroeconomic frameworks—with external adaptation strategies. These include, among others, the internationalization of domestic firms and the deepening of regional integration.
Chapter 9. Indonesian Multinationals: More than Meets the Eye
Andrea Goldstein, on leave from the OECD
This paper investigates the dynamics of Indonesian multinationals through the analysis of statistics and selected short case studies. The paper shows that modest corporate internationalization is in line with other globalization indicators. It also distinguishes two typologies of big business in Indonesia, one pivoted on privileged relationship-based market access and one on industry-specific business skills. In the latter, corporate governance has improved and ties have become more formal, thus supporting international expansion. In the former, insufficient attention to transparency and graft prevalence have led to deteriorating operational and financial performance, thus hindering internationalization.
Chapter 10. The Rising Role of Private Actors in the Structural Change of China’s OFDI
Yuexing Xie , School of Economics, Center for Research on China Open Economy, Zhejiang University. China
Gaoju Yang, School of Economics, Center for Research on China Open Economy, Zhejiang University.China
Amid rising global trade barriers and geopolitical uncertainty, China has been significantly affected in both inward and outward foreign direct investment (FDI). To cope with protectionist pressures, China’s OFDI has shifted domestically toward central and western regions and externally toward emerging markets. With overseas M&A constrained, overseas engineering contracting has become a new growth driver. More importantly, market-oriented reforms have reshaped the composition of China’s OFDI: private enterprises, though individually weaker, are strengthening their role by expanding collectively and engaging across entire value chains. State-owned enterprises, by contrast, remain focused on upstream resources such as energy and minerals, reflecting national strategic priorities. At the same time, reforms to reduce administrative monopolies, improve market mechanisms, and enhance institutional transparency are accelerating, laying the foundation for a more resilient and sustainable outward investment system.
Chapter 11. Turning East: China’s Growing Role in the Pacific Alliance
Lorena Palacios, EGADE, Tec de Monterrey, Mexico
Jahir Lombana-Coy, Universidad del Norte, Colombia
This chapter explores China’s expanding economic and geopolitical footprint within the Pacific Alliance—comprising Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru—and its implications for trade, investment, and regional integration. Since 2000, China’s rise has reshaped global and hemispheric relations, positioning it as a key Latin American partner through projects such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI 2.0). The study finds that China has become the second-largest trading partner of the Alliance, boosting exports but reinforcing dependence on primary commodities, particularly in Chile and Peru. In contrast, Mexico and Colombia sustain closer economic ties with the United States, creating asymmetries and strategic tensions within the bloc.
Chinese foreign direct investment has diversified beyond resource extraction into infrastructure, logistics, and manufacturing, with emblematic projects including Chile’s CGE acquisition, Colombia’s Bogotá Metro, Peru’s Chancay Port, and Mexico’s JAC automotive expansion. These ventures enhance regional connectivity and financing access but also raise concerns about sustainability, governance, and technological dependence. Amid renewed trade uncertainty, China tries to rebalance its external relations. The chapter concludes that the Pacific Alliance must pursue a cohesive regional strategy that leverages Chinese engagement while mitigating dependency, ensuring diversification, and strengthening its global positioning.
Chapter 12. Fragmented Globalization, Unified Access: The Evolving Role of Depositary Receipts in a Multipolar Market
Guy Gresham, Board Advisor; Former Group Head of Global Investor Relations Advisory & Investor Solutions, Depositary Receipts, BNY, United States
Amid increasing regulatory divergence and geopolitical tension, Depositary Receipts (DRs) remain a consistent mechanism connecting emerging-market issuers with global investors. Once used primarily for market access, DRs now serve as established tools for comparability, governance assurance, and investor protection. Drawing on market data, evidence of investor behavior, and practitioner perspectives from global issuers and depositary institutions, this paper examines how the DR framework has evolved over time and identifies the factors that define program success today. It argues that, in a fragmented global financial system, depositary receipts continue to provide stable, regulated channels for cross-border investment and remain integral to maintaining the infrastructure of global capital-market connectivity.
Chapter 13 Opinion Piece. The Challenges of Regulating AI in Emerging Markets.
Georges Ugeux, Columbia University
Underscoring the diversity of contexts in which AI operates, this opinion piece contends that there is no need to create a new set of regulations for governing AI. AI is not a technology that deserves a single regulatory approach. Instead, firms and other economic actors should incorporate AI into existing regulatory frameworks. Strengthening regulatory cooperation and coherence—across disciplines and across countries—will be essential for emerging economies to truly benefit from AI.
Date Issued
2025-11-07
Publisher
Cornell University
ISBN
979-8-9921164-2-7
ISSN
2689-0127
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Type
report
Accessibility Feature
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Accessibility Hazard
none