Know-How Exchange : Strategy

Hi Akshay

although i am not an expert in your industry, but my 2 cents are...

in the mid to long-term, Far East will continue to see rapid industrial and economic growth mostly fuelled by China and competiting & countering performance of Japan, ROK and ASEAN countries.

in the near and mid term South Asia will also see increased economic activity from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

if you combine South Asia and Far East then the potential for business growth opportunity is tremendous compared to West Africa where the average economic growth is not more than 3%-4% per annum. Obviously West Africa is not as potential as Far East is from an economic growth point of view.

But from a logistical point of view, the more attractive area for your company will be determined by how you operate in business. you have mentioned that you are in Petroleum Storage business.
a) where do you source your raw materials from?
b) do you process the crude oil/raw materials into finished products or you are only a storage facility provider where others store their petroleum products?
c) if you only store, then how do you transport the products
d) who does the transportation, you or client or supplier?

since you havent mentioned any clue any of the above, its hard for us to advice you. based on answers to these questions you can decide your expansion.

on a perfuntory review, considering the logistical scenario, unless you a giant, you can expand into West Africa. but in that case your growth will not be as spectacular as were in Far East. in West Africa you will also face less competition and your growth will be driven by mostly Nigeria and Ivory Coast the 2 leading economies vs in Far East you will face intense competition, high cost and more diverse and rapidly growing economies.

hope this helps..

cheers!

Here's another couple of site references that might be useful:

OilVoice

Petrol Subsidies

However I think the real question your board is seeking assistance to answer is how to plan their strategy to take advantage of growth potential in the Far East.

Or, perhaps, simply, how to grow the business?

Have you used that tried and tested tool, environmental and internal analysis to uncover the factors for change? I mean PEST and SWOT. From those you should be able to develop coherent strategies for growth based on what exists in fact, not just in opinion.

If you need more help with this on a professional basis, you can contact me via my profile.

Chris