The fate of the Euro is by no means a matter for us Europeans alone. And this astonishing truth will remain so, for sure, in 2012. It lies in the interest of all Asian nations to keep the Euro alive. Firstly, there is no other currency around that could fill the gap. If the Euro disappears only the US Dollar will remain as a full-fledged reserve currency and no other coin is yet in sight to counterbalance it. Secondly, a (rather shaky) US Dollar as the major reserve currency alone would leave Asia in a very uncomfortable situation to be stuck with a single currency with which to write bills across borders. Because neither the Japanese Yen, nor the Korean Won let alone the Chinese RMB Yuan will find overall acceptance among Asian nations. So the ever growing cross-border trade among Asian markets would be forced to return to the much complicated bilateral procedures, thus and on top potentially marginalizing the elaborate and well functioning money markets in Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo. As in fact the overall picture of the US economy is not much clearer now than it was over the last twelve months it will increase the cost of hedging the value of cross-border bills. The outlook for the US economy is so far still uncertain and very much depending on how the US will solve its debt problem, how to reignite consumption and investment at home. Therefore writing cross-border bills in US Dollars only will represent an open game for anyone in business in Asia, also in 2012.

In regard to China, none of us know the currency basket and its respective valuation the Chinese administration is basing its currency peg on. This will remain top secret in 2012, for sure, leaving us guessing what the real picture in this giant market actually is: bubble or not? A bubble by definition is building up only when being left to (unbalanced) market forces. However, if such a ‘thing’ is politically rather than speculation induced, we do not speak about a bubble, it is called politics.

In other words, for its own sake Japan, Korea, China, Vietnam, India and other Asian governments will continue to tell Europe to get its act together and solve our debt problem – and they will almost certainly carry on supporting it, as long as they can: mutual dependency, mutual benefit.

2. Becoming friends: how to understand each other better

It is not so much about hard hearing – it is more about looking into each other’s true needs. The gap between the mature markets in Europe, its specific sophistication, development speed and potential saturation in comparison to the hurried, rough, unbalanced and ever demanding development of the emerging markets in Asia that cries out for the basics as well as for the refined. Asia’s markets buy everything from utmost luxury to staple food, from high tech machines to grain. There is a trap called deafness to what others want - in both ways. And how they want it. Europe could sell almost all of its goods to these voracious markets, but if it is not done with care Europeans will never bring back the good harvest: the broad range of goods demanded in Asia should not come at an only cost-price. It should certainly also reflects the effort of developing it. If Asia starts to mobilize its intellectual capacities, not only by school book learning but by imaginatively handling that, only then can we all do better, in Europe and in Asia and anywhere in the world. We must open up our minds and talk about how difficult (and costly) it is to create, to develop and to innovate. Success is: applied imagination plus hard work, derived from a broad background of discussing knowledge. On the long run, it neither grows under a planned economy nor does it happen by being lightening struck. It can also not be copied. It comes at a price.

Truly creating things together allows growing together, understanding each other’s needs and desires. And vice versa. This will stay high on the agenda, also in 2012, solidifying the base for a sophisticated trade and a reliable investment climate.

3. Help me to find my market: merge rather than acquire?

Can I buy myself into the market or should I follow the crowd and merge? Have we seen the turning point of the joint venture wave? True or false? Not to stay autistic but rather find a good partner seems to be the best recipe. Helas, this is still the trickiest part of it. Identifying markets in an alien world with a well developed product needs patience – and a good partner. Both is not granted in an environment of high growth pressure, with an intelligent, eager-to-learn-&-catch-up population, ready to find out about the product, the material, the market and eventually coming up with an own replacement. So why not using a local connection to enter the market? Whether buying yourself into it, creating a joint venture or WFOE, letting yourself be advised by local consumer habits, rights and obligations, this will always be a case-by-case decision. What cannot be replaced is to tap the market with local intelligence. Money doesn’t buy more than the ticket. A partner that takes you local or a seasoned advisor still makes all the difference.

4. Old problems won’t go away over night: and what is your world like?

Floods, opaque labor laws, air pollution, corruption, health risks, traffic jams, bureaucracy, poverty or water scarcity – all that will still be there in the year to come. 2012 will not bring any dramatic change for the better, as much as it will be desired to do so – by everyone. However, there will be new laws, rules and regulations dealing with it and we all will be expected and required to know, to adapt and to comply with it. And even if not communicated officially, it cannot be neglected. All we can do, and have to is to find out whether and how it affects our business and how to make the best of it. This is Asia, a continent on the move and if we don’t take it someone else certainly will.

Our over-regulated European markets, the burden of going through the painfully slow process of harmonization within the single European market is our own home-made problem with which we have to live. So far, it made Europe strong. And it is a chance for Asian companies to come over and find out if the cake is big enough for two. In our jungle of habits, rigid laws and customs Asian companies would be lost if they have no one to guide them. Old habits die hard, also for an Asian company it is easier to seek a partner telling him how to live with or profit from it in Europe rather than waiting for the problem to go away. Business is seeking returns, rarely the other way around. A strong alliance may work both ways.

5. The language issue: what are the words that count?

English helps, but it isn’t everything. There are countries in Asia that have more languages on one island than is spoken in the whole of Europe. And still we often chose to stick to English. What Latin and Greek were to our European languages was the Chinese language to multiple Asian languages. It is more than a gesture to learn a few words and expressions to highlight your interest for the local customer. The use of Asian languages within and among Asian people is astounding. Chinese, Urdu, Hindi, Malay, these are all languages widely spoken and used by neighboring nations in Asia. There is more and more trade happening among Asian nations often negotiated in Asian languages and not in English by all means. Inevitably this also means that court hearings and cases are not always done in English any longer. Not to speak of the customer. Doing business in Asia and getting used to Asian partners means to accept more inter-Asian relations as part of our business and of the daily life, already in 2012.

There is a growing interest, though not prominent yet, to learning Latin and Greek in China. It is believed that this may offer clues on how to conquer Europeans markets by understanding the hearts (and minds) of the Europeans and the West in general. In other words, education is a thriving business in Asia, and ever growing. In Europe, the ‘old continent’, we shouldn’t get lazy and rather make an effort to seek and understand the hearts and minds of our market players. Let our children learn Asian languages! That would not just be a smart move on the road to understand Asia, realistically speaking this would be a key to the 3 billion-plus Asian market. Ignorance has never overruled curiosity. Languages are the means of culture and if we do not understand the language we ignore the culture. If we don’t understand the culture we won’t get down to business – for long. In fact, we’ll lose out. Let 2012 be the year you start catching interest in where you want to make your profit by learning a bit of the language yourself, of the place and culture where you bring your money. It will help you to really get into business in Asia.

6. Hot: of global warming and its impact on business

Kyoto is history and a binding agreement is not in sight. However, our world will not for much longer tolerate ever more greenhouse gas exhausts and teach us a lesson. In fact, it already does, we just do not listen carefully. The flooding of Bangkok, the draughts in South West China, the Yellow River, whose waters do not reach the sea in roughly 200 days a year, Pacific islands taking precautions against rising sea levels – all these can be seen as signs of a climate in disarray. It is difficult to assess the cost of these observable facts, but one thing is for sure: if they are not costing directly people’s lives, they are costing a huge amount of money, causing tremendous losses of income and putting ever more burden on people’s lives.

It is likely that the Bangkok flood will make companies think twice whether to continue investing there or rather go upcountry. It is understandable that water intensive industry must recalculate their cost when settling with their investments in the Yellow River delta or along its river banks. It shouldn’t surprise anyone if the Pacific islands are the big losers of the investment roundabout. It will surprise many when in future the coastline of India, China, Vietnam, Indonesia and all the other ocean facing countries will be measured by their means to protect the industry and other settlements along the sea. Building dykes and protecting hinterlands has been practiced in many countries around the world. It has proven useful and made small countries big and powerful, like the Netherlands. Optimizing locations doesn’t only mean building a nice airport, railway station, ringroad, harbor and some glitzy high rise office towers plus 5 star hotels. Protecting themselves against natural disasters like floods in future will help to draw the line between the smart and the backbenchers. Feel free to make your choice in 2012.

7. Ground shaking moves around the corner in 2012?

Yes, there are. Watch out for the new Chinese leadership getting into business in March. Will the world’s second largest economy then be able to outgrow its self-inflicted debt trap without copying the West in making too much use of “QE” (quantitative easing)? So far this isn’t fixed at all. Watch out for a higher degree of environmental awareness in Vietnam with opportunities in infrastructure but with higher costs in manufacturing. See what Thailand does to have business stay in the Greater Bangkok area despite the threat of another flood. Find out how serious Japan gets making nuclear power safer and eventually going renewable step by step. Watch Burma further opening up and allowing more foreign investment in. Wait how India and Pakistan get along in 2012. This will be an indicator for India’s recovery of growth and Pakistan’s way back into a peaceful state of affairs. Watch Indonesia gain an even higher portion of the foreign direct investment cake. Follow the slow-motion process of North Korean reforms and see what South Korea has done to get ready for by creating a multi-billion US$ fund. Are they ready for a re-unification yet? And finally how will the US and its TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) be filled with life by the members agreed so far, while the even bigger question will be: how are those not asked in (e.g. China) cope with the existence of a TPP? And last but not least will Europe work out a trustworthy solution to save and stabilize the Euro and will this create opportunities for Asian corporate life to participate? Will this at the end prevent Asia from slipping into recession as Europe and the US may eventually recover?

There may be other and even bigger questions arising, but those are for sure some topics to follow. The world will again carry on looking more Asian in 2012, and we will be well advised to take that duly into account.