MNC interest has returned in a big way to CIS markets in 2018, and for good reason. CIS markets have in general revived after several years of weak, fragile growth. Kazakhstan remains a resilient and solid growth opportunity, Azerbaijan has…
Elections are driving greater uncertainty in Ukraine this year
After the drastic drop in economic growth since the 2014 Maidan Revolution, businesses have still yet to see a solid bounce back – and, to be sure, a stronger bounce back still won’t be coming. But this doesn’t mean there…
“Want to find one of the world’s latest and largest emerging markets? Look to Uzbekistan”
As the joke has it: “Uzbekistan didn’t leave the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union left Uzbekistan.” The country, for all intents and purposes, remained a Soviet Republic from its independence right up until the 2016 death of Islam Karimov, the…
[Podcast] Russia Outlook for 2018: What MNCs can expect?
![[Podcast] Russia Outlook for 2018: What MNCs can expect?](../../../wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Untitled-design-1.png "[Podcast] Russia Outlook for 2018: What MNCs can expect?")
FSG held its annual Moscow breakfast for clients in September, where executives indicated their concerns over pressure from corporate to hit rising revenue targets in 2018 after a mild uptick in demand in 2017. However, nearly all firms noted that…
Insights from Kyiv: Rising optimism but some risks remain
Ukraine has faced an extremely tumultuous period over the past three years, and is beginning to recover and exit its recession. As MNCs are increasingly trying to anticipate the outlook for the market in the coming years and make strategic…
When will consumer demand recover in Russia?
For a country that saw some of the strongest consumer spending growth in the world in the 2000s – when it rose by 10-15% YOY in the years prior to the 2008/2009 global financial crisis – Russian consumers have been…
Has Belarus hit a turning point?
For more than two decades, Belarus has been quite predictable politically and economically. A centralized, neo-Soviet state guided by an autocratic leader who ensured rising living standards and stability had seemed to serve the country adequately. However, the last two…