Business isles or Business ¥$£€$ ? Back to Business Glossary
by Jean LW Lequeux in http://www.weltram.eu
Why are islands so important for the World Business… not only Business, but also strategy, ecology, sciences, etc. Moreover, their importance is growing continuously with new events:
- The international agreement on the continental plateau, which granted them huge territorial waters;
- The necessary constraints to preserve natural zones;
- The unstable political situation on most continents;
- Etc.
On a business point of view, we call Business isle a territory that could be either a geographic island or a small piece of land that are surrounded by other bigger states and that have got some political autonomy.
Autonomy: this is the only common denominator of all those isles! However, their status is ranging from simple home rule to total independence from their powerful neighbors. For the rest, some of them are just "God's little acres" of land lost in the middle of a huge ocean or indomitable rocks while others are vast lands overtaking most of big countries.
Just take note that the 3rd and 6th world economic powers (Japan and the UK) are islands, like many local major countries such as Indonesia, Filipinos, etc.
This paper excludes these countries, describing only small entities that always met difficulties for islanders to insure their economic development. Apart from being naturally isolated, few of them have enough natural resources for their own domestic consumption. Concerning their population: they are either over populated or almost desert. Some of them have established permissive laws, which have allowed them to become financial and banking places.
• Powerful city-isles
- Financial and industrial platforms
- Financial paradises
- Natural resources providers
- Influential microstates
• Powerless islands
- Strategic bastions
- New tourists’ targets
- Sovereignty is always sources of special revenues. Possible activities are: special stamps emissions, incorporation and hosting companies, sales of Internet address extension, etc.
Business City-States
Business city-islands are few in today's geo-political map although they have played major roles in the history of humanity. Actually most of them were rather city-states and not islands, geographically speaking. The history of Europe and the Middle East has been forged by such cities: Roma, Athens, Cartage, Babylon, etc. Later, the Republics of Venice and Genoa were the most powerful states of Europe until the Hanseatic League between European harbors extending from the Baltic and North seas to La Rochelle on the Atlantic Ocean. The league pre-figured free-market and more or less the European Union.
The modern forms of these microstates have to develop both their finance and industry because their big population is increasing. Some claimed and obtained total independence, like Singapore in the sixties, others chose to abandon partly their political autonomy like Hong-Kong and Macao, which joined the PRC (People Republic of China) as special provinces after their retro-cession. Formerly called "little dragons", they have maintained their economic freedom and kept developing their industry and finance. They also have a high GNP per capita and are Business drivers for their partner-countries or mainland.
Powerful island-states
Apart from those financial market places, other tiny states could have some real power based on their:
- Natural resources
Some islands, sometimes uninhabited, are unique concentration points of ores allowing mining companies to tap rare metals and other minerals. The bad side of it, is over-exploitation that generates ecological disasters and their dependency on a single source of revenues.
- Maritime territories
Seas or oceans surround islands. International laws have extended national sovereignty far away from the coasts. So, when considering their territorial waters, most of these microstates should be regarded as much bigger countries. This sea-extensions add much more opportunities for their economies: huge fishing areas, possible deep sea oil and gas reserves, aqua-culture, more spaces for tourism, etc.
- Influential national politics
Very few of them could claim a real influence on world politics. They must have either a moral leadership widely recognized or a spiritual power on a large number of believers. In both cases they need to have a historical justification. Anyway, for their non-temporal authority these states need no lands, but de facto sovereignty.
Powerless islands
The major part of micro island-states has got neither financial nor natural sources of revenues. However, they may enjoy privileges that are specific to their situation:
- New tourists' targets
When both their geographical and meteorological situations allow it, they could easily become new tourists' targets, providing they've got a stable government committed in a rational development of tourism. Tourism could be a catalyst for a relative economic prosperity, however as most of these states keep a mono-industry organization, their wealth remains dependant on rich countries.
- Strategic bastions
Many island-states could easily become natural strategic bases or bastions for world super powers. The major risks for them are certainly to loose their neutrality and probably to leave a large part, even all of their sovereignty. Unluckily, hosting military bases do not generate much other revenues than local sales to expatriated personnel.
- Other sources of revenues
Sovereignty is definitely the best advantage, which enables these microstates to launch specific business models: emission of stamps series, internet addresses hosting with fancy extensions, enterprise registration, etc.
The ecosystem issues
As most of these micro-states are surrounded by natural elements (oceans and seas and, for some of them, mountains), their fates depend closely on environmental factors.
- Natural risks
Among the natural risks are: meteorological changes, tsunamis, cyclones, geological erosions, volcanic eruptions, pollution, earth overheat, ecological disasters, etc. They are much more vulnerable to these risks because of their small size and their isolation. Tourism and exploitation of natural reserves are amplifying the risks.
- Social and demographic risks
The conjunction of their territorial limitations with economic development often leads to overpopulation. The consequence is overbuilding... Adding another major risk and a new threat to their natural equilibrium!
- Risks mitigation
As most of these threats are global, prevention of disasters are done at sub-continental levels. However, these micro nations have their own part of responsibility in establishing mitigating measures: limitation of incoming migrants, building shields against erosion, etc.
Unluckily for the most exposed of them, that will only postpone an unavoidable fatal issue and emergency plans are under evaluation.
Examples of island-states
Seychelles
This independent archipelago, governed by a Marxist regime, has launched a business model based on affluent tourists and preservation of natural sites.
Gibraltar
This autonomous rock is a strategic bastion of the UK, locking the access to the Mediterranean.
Greenland
With 2 million square kilometers and only 50 thousands inhabitants, this Danish dominion enjoying a large autonomy is now a major potential ores reserve and has a complete control on the arctic passage.
Falklands
Near the Antarctic, the Falklands islands were claimed by Argentina but remained British after a short war in the early 80s. Oil and fishing recently made their fortune.
Monaco
Monaco is the wealthiest country in the world in terms of revenues per inhabitant.
Maldives
This archipelago has got a stern future…sooner or later it will have the fate of Atlantis! Despite protective construction, their government is already planning to acquire lands somewhere else and prepare their nation to leave forever the sinking isles.
Tuvalu
This island of the Pacific Ocean survives by selling ".tv"-extension internet addresses.
Vatican
One of the most influential spiritual power of the planet despite its size!
Order of Malta / Malta
Both are sovereign entities but has few in common, apart some episodes of their histories when the Order was installed in La Valette, the Capital of Malta.
Malta is an island-state member of the European Union, while the eponymous Order is a landless institution recognized as a state reporting to the Vatican.
French Austral Territories
With no inhabitant, these territories issue their stamps used by the scientific teams
The smaller is not always the better for Business…
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