South Korean and Taiwanese brands have long been household names. Today, however, the namesof transnational companies (TNCs) from an increasingly diverse set of emerging and developingeconomies are regularly making if not the dinner table conversation then at least the headlines of theinternational business press. This reflects that companies such as Mittal and Tata (India), ChinaNational Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), Haier and Lenovo (PRC), Embraer (Brazil),SAPMiller (South Africa), and Cemex (Mexico) are foraying ever deeper into the internationaleconomy and increasingly investing abroad.This paper takes stock of the mounting trend of outward FDI from emerging economies, withspecial focus on a group of five countries, which are becoming increasingly economically andpolitically influential, viz. the 'BRICS' countries. An 'S' is appended here to the conventionalacronym of 'BRIC' (Brazil, Russia, India, China) to include the largest economy on the Africancontinent, South Africa. The five BRICS countries produced some USD25 billion of outward FDIflows in 2004, corresponding to some 3 percent of world FDI flows and well over half (61 percent)of total developing country outflows. OFDI from the BRICS countries has grown rapidly over the last few years, while still remaining modest compared to many developed countries.Following a brief discussion of FDI and emerging economies in general the article proceeds tohypothesise that the increase we currently observe in outward investment from emerging anddeveloping economies may constitute a third 'wave' of OFDI, distinct from the two previous wavesdepicted in the literature, and outlines the contours of such a wave. An empirical analysis OFDIfrom the BRICS countries follows, conducted at three levels: global (what is the extent, directions,etc. of outward FDI); sectoral (in which sectors is outward FDI significant); and firm level, identifying a small number of particularly interesting TNCs from emerging and developingeconomies.
