Issues in Emerging Economies
In emerging economies, capital markets are relatively inefficient. There is a lack of information, the cost of capital is high, and venture capital is virtually nonexistent. Because of the scarcity of high-quality educational institutions, the labor markets lack well trained people and companies often must fill the void. Because of lacking communications infrastructure, building a brand name is difficult but good brands are highly valued because of lower product quality of the alternatives. Relationships with government officials often are necessary to succeed, and contracts may not be well enforced by the legal system.
When a large government monopoly (e.g. a state-owned oil company) is privatized, there often is political pressure in the country against allowing the firm to be acquired by a foreign entity. Whereas a very large U.S. Oil company may prefer acquisitions, because of the anti-foreign sentiment joint ventures often are more appropriate for outside companies interested in newly privatized emerging economy firms.