**5. Internationalisation strategies from the developing market**

The diversity of operations among the African companies on the UNCTAD top 100 non-banking companies from developing countries complicates the identification of general internationalisation strategies that could result in the globalisation of business operations. South African companies dominate the list, followed by two companies from other parts of Africa—Sonatrach, as the SOE from Algeria, and the Orascom Construction Group from Egypt. The international expansion of Sonatrach is purely driven by market-seeking strategies, since the oil and gas deposits of the country mandate distribution outside the borders of Algeria. The company was established in 1963 with Algerian independence and extracted oil, built pipeline infrastructure for transportation and gas, conducted explorations, distributed petroleum products and monopolised the market for the production and distribution of all related production after the nationalisation of the industry in 1967. Sonatrach acquired critical mass in the domestic Algerian petro-chemical industry, because in 1971 all hydrocarbon resources were also nationalised. Algeria joined OPEC in 1969. In 1986, legislation was passed to allow joint ventures with Sonatrach, on a condition that companies are incorporated and maintain head offices in Algeria. Foreign investment and expertise infusion in Sonatrach changed the inward-looking SOE perspective towards opportunities outside Algeria, such as the construction of the Pedro Duran Farell pipeline delivering 11 billion cubic metres of gas per annum to Spain and Portugal via Morocco. Since 2000, Sonatrach engaged in operations outside the home market—in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Britain, Peru and the USA [67] (www.sonatrach.com). Sonatrach is ranked 51 by its foreign assets but only 72nd by TNI ([2], p. 39). Sonatrach did not expand operations outside Algeria to link, leverage and learn from companies outside its borders (as suggested by Matthews, was the strategies of the 'Dragon Tigers'—[31, 33, 35, 68]), but the SOE allowed foreign expertise to enter operations in Algeria, under government control, and transfer skills and experience to the SOE, which ultimately allowed Sonatrach to expand into foreign markets.

strategy consisted primarily of expansion into neighbouring markets as part of the market and asset-seeking strategies of management—still firmly in the hands of the Sawiris brothers. Different factors contributed to the globalisation of South African companies. At first FSAs developed in production sophistication, management and product innovation. This mandated expansion beyond the confines of the small domestic market. Market constraints as a result of domestic conditions undermined efficiency enhancement. In contrast to the Asian experience described by Matthews, South African companies did not seek access to new technology but owned advanced production methods and implemented new technology, which they exported into the new markets, especially in Africa. The globalisation of Gold Fields

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Gold Fields was one of the first gold mining companies in South Africa, established in 1887 in London and by 1892 consolidated its operations in South Africa under the name of Consolidated Gold Fields of South Africa Ltd. (CGFSA). CGFSA operated in the gold mining sector and diversified operations into manufacturing, finance and property. After the AAC relocation to London, Minorco (owned by AAC) acquired the London-based Consolidated Gold Fields Ltd. in 1989. This left the South African CGFSA an independent company, firmly rooted in the Witwatersrand. The South African company then expanded its gold mining operations by the acquisition of the Tarkwa gold mine in Ghana, in 1998 merged its gold interests with the gold interests of Gencor after that mining house's unbundling and acquired a 21.6% share in the former AAC Driefontein Gold Mine in South Africa. The new gold mining company was renamed Gold Fields Ltd. Gold Fields used its superior managerial skills and technology in gold mining to expand into other gold mining operations, primarily in West Africa. The company explained the mergers and acquisitions as occurring '…against the background of a tough commercial environment where costs are outstripping the price of finished gold' ([72], p. 4). By 2000, Gold Fields was the largest gold mining company in the world. The company acquired more gold mines in Ghana (Aush Agnew mine, St. Ives mines) to gain access to international capital Gold Fields listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2002 and subsequently expanded operations into Venezuela (acquired in 2006 but sold again in 2009—managing contextual risk), Peru and the Philippines. In 2011, Gold Fields bought out minorities in Ghana and the Philippines and in 2013 expanded its operations into Western Australia through the acquisition of three gold mines [73, 98] (www.goldfields.co.za/au-history.php). Gold Fields remained active in the South African gold mining industry but restructured its ownership by unbundling some mines and listing them separately as Sibanye Gold in 2012 and listing Sibanye separately in the JSE as well as the NYSE. Gold Fields was leading in cyanide technology, which was introduced at all the gold extraction plants at its mines world-wide. In 2009, Gold Fields was the first gold mining company to sign the Cyanide Management Code, of which the company had been a leading compiler. Globalisation of Gold Fields was to seek new markets and assets in response to the limitations in the domestic

market but also because the company owned FSA in mining technology.

The role of leading technology as driver of globalisation was also critical in the globalisation strategies of Sasol and Sappi. Sappi (the South African Paper and Pulp Industries) acquired an international footprint utilising its locally developed knowledge base. Industrial protection policies implemented since the early 1920s assisted Sappi (established in 1936) in acquiring

Limited is a case in point.

The other ranked African company on the developing country list is Orascom, a building materials and chemical industry business in Egypt, especially noted in the WIR 2014 as engaging increasingly in OFDI in Africa ([2], p. 39). Orascom started as a family-owned construction company of the Sawiris family in the 1950s, but nationalisation caused the migration of the founder to Libya in 1961, where he continued his career in construction. On Onsi Sawiris' return to Egypt in 1976, he re-established Orascom Onsi Sawiris & Company. The EO of Onsi Sawiris took him to Virginia in the USA in 1985 to establish his company, Contrack, on American soil, hoping to benefit from USAID and winning building contracts from the US Government in Egypt. Under close family control, Orascom developed into the leading private sector building materials and construction contractor in Egypt. The Sawiris family collaborated with local and foreign partners to establish building materials outlets across Egypt. As the founder stepped down in 1995, the successor son, Nassef Sawiris, embarked on extensive diversification into related enterprises. In 1998, the name was changed to Orascom Construction Industries (OCI S.A.) and listed on local bourses in 1999 (currently the Egyptian Stock Exchange). The order book of the company expanded significantly, and OCI had acquired the BESIX Group with extensive operation exposure in Europe and the Gulf. Business expansion occurred as suggested by the Uppsala model—into neighbouring ethnically similar countries. Further operational expansion led to the establishment of OCI subsidiaries in Saudi Arabia, as well as the acquisition of US construction companies (Watts Construction in 2013 and Weitz Company in 2012), and in 2015 OCI listed on the Nasdaq Dubai the EGX. OCI's initial international expansion was aimed at escape from risks and limitations in the home market, but operational efficiency resulted in business expansion across North Africa as well as the Middle East, the UK and the USA. The market distortion in the home market served as a push towards international expansion, but globalisation was only actively pursued from the beginning of the twenty-first century. The initial markets targeted were Tunisia, Algeria and Qatar. The OCI Group diversified into the chemical industry, fertiliser production, hotel industry [101], recreational facilities and financial services (mortgage lending, leasing and insurance) [70, 71] (www.forbes.com; www.orascom.com). During the 2011 uprisings, the company listing was moved to Euronext in Amsterdam. The globalisation strategy consisted primarily of expansion into neighbouring markets as part of the market and asset-seeking strategies of management—still firmly in the hands of the Sawiris brothers.

market for the production and distribution of all related production after the nationalisation of the industry in 1967. Sonatrach acquired critical mass in the domestic Algerian petro-chemical industry, because in 1971 all hydrocarbon resources were also nationalised. Algeria joined OPEC in 1969. In 1986, legislation was passed to allow joint ventures with Sonatrach, on a condition that companies are incorporated and maintain head offices in Algeria. Foreign investment and expertise infusion in Sonatrach changed the inward-looking SOE perspective towards opportunities outside Algeria, such as the construction of the Pedro Duran Farell pipeline delivering 11 billion cubic metres of gas per annum to Spain and Portugal via Morocco. Since 2000, Sonatrach engaged in operations outside the home market—in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Britain, Peru and the USA [67] (www.sonatrach.com). Sonatrach is ranked 51 by its foreign assets but only 72nd by TNI ([2], p. 39). Sonatrach did not expand operations outside Algeria to link, leverage and learn from companies outside its borders (as suggested by Matthews, was the strategies of the 'Dragon Tigers'—[31, 33, 35, 68]), but the SOE allowed foreign expertise to enter operations in Algeria, under government control, and transfer skills and experience to the SOE, which

The other ranked African company on the developing country list is Orascom, a building materials and chemical industry business in Egypt, especially noted in the WIR 2014 as engaging increasingly in OFDI in Africa ([2], p. 39). Orascom started as a family-owned construction company of the Sawiris family in the 1950s, but nationalisation caused the migration of the founder to Libya in 1961, where he continued his career in construction. On Onsi Sawiris' return to Egypt in 1976, he re-established Orascom Onsi Sawiris & Company. The EO of Onsi Sawiris took him to Virginia in the USA in 1985 to establish his company, Contrack, on American soil, hoping to benefit from USAID and winning building contracts from the US Government in Egypt. Under close family control, Orascom developed into the leading private sector building materials and construction contractor in Egypt. The Sawiris family collaborated with local and foreign partners to establish building materials outlets across Egypt. As the founder stepped down in 1995, the successor son, Nassef Sawiris, embarked on extensive diversification into related enterprises. In 1998, the name was changed to Orascom Construction Industries (OCI S.A.) and listed on local bourses in 1999 (currently the Egyptian Stock Exchange). The order book of the company expanded significantly, and OCI had acquired the BESIX Group with extensive operation exposure in Europe and the Gulf. Business expansion occurred as suggested by the Uppsala model—into neighbouring ethnically similar countries. Further operational expansion led to the establishment of OCI subsidiaries in Saudi Arabia, as well as the acquisition of US construction companies (Watts Construction in 2013 and Weitz Company in 2012), and in 2015 OCI listed on the Nasdaq Dubai the EGX. OCI's initial international expansion was aimed at escape from risks and limitations in the home market, but operational efficiency resulted in business expansion across North Africa as well as the Middle East, the UK and the USA. The market distortion in the home market served as a push towards international expansion, but globalisation was only actively pursued from the beginning of the twenty-first century. The initial markets targeted were Tunisia, Algeria and Qatar. The OCI Group diversified into the chemical industry, fertiliser production, hotel industry [101], recreational facilities and financial services (mortgage lending, leasing and insurance) [70, 71] (www.forbes.com; www.orascom.com). During the 2011 uprisings, the company listing was moved to Euronext in Amsterdam. The globalisation

ultimately allowed Sonatrach to expand into foreign markets.

56 Globalization

Different factors contributed to the globalisation of South African companies. At first FSAs developed in production sophistication, management and product innovation. This mandated expansion beyond the confines of the small domestic market. Market constraints as a result of domestic conditions undermined efficiency enhancement. In contrast to the Asian experience described by Matthews, South African companies did not seek access to new technology but owned advanced production methods and implemented new technology, which they exported into the new markets, especially in Africa. The globalisation of Gold Fields Limited is a case in point.

Gold Fields was one of the first gold mining companies in South Africa, established in 1887 in London and by 1892 consolidated its operations in South Africa under the name of Consolidated Gold Fields of South Africa Ltd. (CGFSA). CGFSA operated in the gold mining sector and diversified operations into manufacturing, finance and property. After the AAC relocation to London, Minorco (owned by AAC) acquired the London-based Consolidated Gold Fields Ltd. in 1989. This left the South African CGFSA an independent company, firmly rooted in the Witwatersrand. The South African company then expanded its gold mining operations by the acquisition of the Tarkwa gold mine in Ghana, in 1998 merged its gold interests with the gold interests of Gencor after that mining house's unbundling and acquired a 21.6% share in the former AAC Driefontein Gold Mine in South Africa. The new gold mining company was renamed Gold Fields Ltd. Gold Fields used its superior managerial skills and technology in gold mining to expand into other gold mining operations, primarily in West Africa. The company explained the mergers and acquisitions as occurring '…against the background of a tough commercial environment where costs are outstripping the price of finished gold' ([72], p. 4). By 2000, Gold Fields was the largest gold mining company in the world. The company acquired more gold mines in Ghana (Aush Agnew mine, St. Ives mines) to gain access to international capital Gold Fields listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2002 and subsequently expanded operations into Venezuela (acquired in 2006 but sold again in 2009—managing contextual risk), Peru and the Philippines. In 2011, Gold Fields bought out minorities in Ghana and the Philippines and in 2013 expanded its operations into Western Australia through the acquisition of three gold mines [73, 98] (www.goldfields.co.za/au-history.php). Gold Fields remained active in the South African gold mining industry but restructured its ownership by unbundling some mines and listing them separately as Sibanye Gold in 2012 and listing Sibanye separately in the JSE as well as the NYSE. Gold Fields was leading in cyanide technology, which was introduced at all the gold extraction plants at its mines world-wide. In 2009, Gold Fields was the first gold mining company to sign the Cyanide Management Code, of which the company had been a leading compiler. Globalisation of Gold Fields was to seek new markets and assets in response to the limitations in the domestic market but also because the company owned FSA in mining technology.

The role of leading technology as driver of globalisation was also critical in the globalisation strategies of Sasol and Sappi. Sappi (the South African Paper and Pulp Industries) acquired an international footprint utilising its locally developed knowledge base. Industrial protection policies implemented since the early 1920s assisted Sappi (established in 1936) in acquiring market domination. In 1987, Sappi acquire Saicor, then the world's largest producer of chemical cellulose and developed excess production capacity. Sappi commenced paper exports to European markets towards the late 1980s and in 1986 established an international selling subsidiary, Sappi International. International sales rose to half of Sappi sales even before the international acquisition drive. Since 1991, Sappi embarked on M&As in the UK (five paper mills), Germany (Hanover Papier) and Hong Kong (specialised pulp services), a majority stake in the US company SD Warren, the world leader in coated paper, and in 1997 the largest coated paper company in Europe, KNP Leykam. By 2000, Sappi was the world leader in the manufacturing of coated wood-free paper. Sappi listed on the London, Paris and New York stock exchanges but maintained its primary listing in Johannesburg (*Economist,* 13/7/2006; www.sappi.com). In 2004, Sappi expanded into the Chinese market by acquiring a 34% stake in a joint venture with Jiangxi Chenming. The reason for the joint venture was technology and expertise transfer: Sappi assisted with the building of paper machines, a mechanical pulp mill and a deinked pulp plant [13]. Sappi was ranked 50th on the list of the top 100 nonfinancial companies in the developing world in 2008, with foreign assets of US\$ 4001 million, and by 2013 was ranked 98th by foreign assets and 33rd in terms of its TNI ([2], web Table 29). The market and asset-seeking strategies of Sappi were facilitated by the company's ownership of proprietary knowledge and its ability to establish networks and alliances (joint ventures) to map out its global footprint.

the limitation of the domestic market considering the advanced nature of the technology developed. Domestic market constraints added further motivation for globalisation. Joint venture expansion strategies are often motivated by the ownership by the local interests of resources, such as oil, gas or coal. Sasol contributed its technological expertise to the project in a joint venture. By 2009, Sasol was ranked the highest of the South African companies in the WIR top 100 non-banking companies ([94–96]; [12], p. 223). With a market capitalisation exceeding ZAR317,687 million (or US\$30.89 billion) by 2013, Sasol added a second listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2006 but maintained its primary listing in Johannesburg. By 2013, Sasol ranked 53rd on the top 100 nonfinancial companies in the developing world and

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In the telecommunications industry, two South African EMNCs have established an undisputed global footprint. The first is Naspers. This company was established in 1915 as the holding company of an Afrikaans newspaper *De Burger.* As international sanctions and isolation placed serious restrictions on expansion ambitions of the print media, the electronic media opened opportunities to the early birds. Naspers started the first pay-television business M-Net in 1985 and listed it on the JSE in 1990, but that alone could not salvage the media company. In 1993, M-Net split into two companies: M-Net, which was the pay-television company, and MultiChoice Limited, which took over subscriber management, signal distribution and cellular telephone services. In 1994, Nasionale Pers listed on the JSE and changed its name to Naspers in 1997. In 1995, Richemont S. A. Switzerland and MultiChoice merged their pay-television operations into NetHold BV, held through the Naspers subsidiary MIH Ltd. These transition into the electronic media occurred because a Naspers manager in the newspaper division, JP 'Koos' Bekker, disagreed with the old-fashioned management style of the company. Bekker completed an MBA at Columbia University, with a short dissertation on the electronic media, resigned from Naspers and started his own electronic commerce/news company. In 1997, Bekker was recalled to Naspers to address the problems of falling profits and drastically declining market share. Bekker transformed the newspaper and book print company into a multimedia company. At first the pay-television interests of NetHold were merged with pay-television interests of Canal+ in France, Irdeto Access in France, 30.1% of UBC, the Thai pay-television company, and ended up managing NetHold Africa, Mediterranean and Middle East pay-television business. In 1997, MIH Ltd. listed on the NASDAQ. MIH Ltd. then established an Internet service provider MWeb and then ventured in a shopping spree of acquisitions in the instant messaging and Internet service sectors in China (Tencent in 2001), Brazil, Russia (Mail.ru in 2007) and other Eastern European countries. Naspers also acquired a controlling interest in, and media groups in Brazil (Editora Abril in 2006), a 9.1% stake in the Chinese Beijing Media Company, in March 2008, the Tradus company (formerly QXL and listed on the London Stock Exchange), which provides an online auction platform and Internet portals in Central and Eastern Europe. Naspers acquired Allegro.pl., the leading online auction site in Poland. In 2008, Naspers also acquired a controlling stake in BuzzCity, a mobile media company providing access to a global advertising network on the mobile Internet for brand owners and agencies [75]. In November 2009, Naspers bought BuscaPé, provider of comparison shopping systems for more than 100 portals and Web sites in Latin America, including Microsoft, Globo and Abril. Soon the company expanded into eMag, a major e-commerce portal in Romania, a 79% stake in Netretail in the Czech Republic in June 2012 and in November 2012 a minority stake in Souq.com, a similar portal in Iran. In 2013,

ranked 74th in terms of its TNI.

The South African synthetic fuel producer, Sasol, could use its ownership of advanced leading technology to drive its globalisation strategy. Sasol was established in 1951 as a SOE to develop the German Fischer-Tropsch process of manufacturing synthetic fuel from coal commercially. Pioneering technology was developed, and South Africa became the first country in the world to produce fuel from coal commercially since the last half of the 1950s. In 1979, Sasol was privatised and listed on the JSE, because by the early 1980s, expansion was mandated by the threatening international oil crises unleashed by the OPEC price hikes of the early 1970s. Sasol built two additional manufacturing plants, Sasol 2 and Sasol 3. Sasol soon developed an extensive downstream chemical by-product business and by the turn of the century was a diversified chemical conglomerate. Sasol diversified operations from the start, e.g. into mining, in order to supply in its coal demand; it ventured in chemical products, oil and the development of chemical technology. In 1996, Sasol announced its Slurry Phase Distillate (SPD) technology internationally and by 2001 its world leading gas-to-liquid (GTL) technology. By 2008, international accreditation was received for the innovative research by Sasol Technology, in developing fully synthetic jet fuel ([74], p. 26; [93]). The global positioning of Sasol was inevitable. Businesses built around natural resources are usually global, because they serve international customers in advanced markets, they seek alternative sources of resources due to the saturation or cost of domestic materials and such 'companies move up the value chain, selling branded products or offering solutions to niche markets' ([66], p. 67). The improved SPD technology offered the opportunity for the global development of gas-to-liquid (GTL) technology. Sasol pioneered the first GTL plant in Qatar, another in Nigeria, and works in JVs around the world to apply its GTL as well as its coal-to-liquid (CTL) technology. Sasol was a strategic industry for South Africa during the international sanction era and developed a competitive advantage in the chemical industry through innovative technology. Early in the new millennium, Sasol started global acquisitions and joint ventures, following the Dunning [48] model of expansion driven by OLI advantages. An added rationale for globalisation was the limitation of the domestic market considering the advanced nature of the technology developed. Domestic market constraints added further motivation for globalisation. Joint venture expansion strategies are often motivated by the ownership by the local interests of resources, such as oil, gas or coal. Sasol contributed its technological expertise to the project in a joint venture. By 2009, Sasol was ranked the highest of the South African companies in the WIR top 100 non-banking companies ([94–96]; [12], p. 223). With a market capitalisation exceeding ZAR317,687 million (or US\$30.89 billion) by 2013, Sasol added a second listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2006 but maintained its primary listing in Johannesburg. By 2013, Sasol ranked 53rd on the top 100 nonfinancial companies in the developing world and ranked 74th in terms of its TNI.

market domination. In 1987, Sappi acquire Saicor, then the world's largest producer of chemical cellulose and developed excess production capacity. Sappi commenced paper exports to European markets towards the late 1980s and in 1986 established an international selling subsidiary, Sappi International. International sales rose to half of Sappi sales even before the international acquisition drive. Since 1991, Sappi embarked on M&As in the UK (five paper mills), Germany (Hanover Papier) and Hong Kong (specialised pulp services), a majority stake in the US company SD Warren, the world leader in coated paper, and in 1997 the largest coated paper company in Europe, KNP Leykam. By 2000, Sappi was the world leader in the manufacturing of coated wood-free paper. Sappi listed on the London, Paris and New York stock exchanges but maintained its primary listing in Johannesburg (*Economist,* 13/7/2006; www.sappi.com). In 2004, Sappi expanded into the Chinese market by acquiring a 34% stake in a joint venture with Jiangxi Chenming. The reason for the joint venture was technology and expertise transfer: Sappi assisted with the building of paper machines, a mechanical pulp mill and a deinked pulp plant [13]. Sappi was ranked 50th on the list of the top 100 nonfinancial companies in the developing world in 2008, with foreign assets of US\$ 4001 million, and by 2013 was ranked 98th by foreign assets and 33rd in terms of its TNI ([2], web Table 29). The market and asset-seeking strategies of Sappi were facilitated by the company's ownership of proprietary knowledge and its ability to establish networks and alliances (joint ventures) to

The South African synthetic fuel producer, Sasol, could use its ownership of advanced leading technology to drive its globalisation strategy. Sasol was established in 1951 as a SOE to develop the German Fischer-Tropsch process of manufacturing synthetic fuel from coal commercially. Pioneering technology was developed, and South Africa became the first country in the world to produce fuel from coal commercially since the last half of the 1950s. In 1979, Sasol was privatised and listed on the JSE, because by the early 1980s, expansion was mandated by the threatening international oil crises unleashed by the OPEC price hikes of the early 1970s. Sasol built two additional manufacturing plants, Sasol 2 and Sasol 3. Sasol soon developed an extensive downstream chemical by-product business and by the turn of the century was a diversified chemical conglomerate. Sasol diversified operations from the start, e.g. into mining, in order to supply in its coal demand; it ventured in chemical products, oil and the development of chemical technology. In 1996, Sasol announced its Slurry Phase Distillate (SPD) technology internationally and by 2001 its world leading gas-to-liquid (GTL) technology. By 2008, international accreditation was received for the innovative research by Sasol Technology, in developing fully synthetic jet fuel ([74], p. 26; [93]). The global positioning of Sasol was inevitable. Businesses built around natural resources are usually global, because they serve international customers in advanced markets, they seek alternative sources of resources due to the saturation or cost of domestic materials and such 'companies move up the value chain, selling branded products or offering solutions to niche markets' ([66], p. 67). The improved SPD technology offered the opportunity for the global development of gas-to-liquid (GTL) technology. Sasol pioneered the first GTL plant in Qatar, another in Nigeria, and works in JVs around the world to apply its GTL as well as its coal-to-liquid (CTL) technology. Sasol was a strategic industry for South Africa during the international sanction era and developed a competitive advantage in the chemical industry through innovative technology. Early in the new millennium, Sasol started global acquisitions and joint ventures, following the Dunning [48] model of expansion driven by OLI advantages. An added rationale for globalisation was

map out its global footprint.

58 Globalization

In the telecommunications industry, two South African EMNCs have established an undisputed global footprint. The first is Naspers. This company was established in 1915 as the holding company of an Afrikaans newspaper *De Burger.* As international sanctions and isolation placed serious restrictions on expansion ambitions of the print media, the electronic media opened opportunities to the early birds. Naspers started the first pay-television business M-Net in 1985 and listed it on the JSE in 1990, but that alone could not salvage the media company. In 1993, M-Net split into two companies: M-Net, which was the pay-television company, and MultiChoice Limited, which took over subscriber management, signal distribution and cellular telephone services. In 1994, Nasionale Pers listed on the JSE and changed its name to Naspers in 1997. In 1995, Richemont S. A. Switzerland and MultiChoice merged their pay-television operations into NetHold BV, held through the Naspers subsidiary MIH Ltd. These transition into the electronic media occurred because a Naspers manager in the newspaper division, JP 'Koos' Bekker, disagreed with the old-fashioned management style of the company. Bekker completed an MBA at Columbia University, with a short dissertation on the electronic media, resigned from Naspers and started his own electronic commerce/news company. In 1997, Bekker was recalled to Naspers to address the problems of falling profits and drastically declining market share. Bekker transformed the newspaper and book print company into a multimedia company. At first the pay-television interests of NetHold were merged with pay-television interests of Canal+ in France, Irdeto Access in France, 30.1% of UBC, the Thai pay-television company, and ended up managing NetHold Africa, Mediterranean and Middle East pay-television business. In 1997, MIH Ltd. listed on the NASDAQ. MIH Ltd. then established an Internet service provider MWeb and then ventured in a shopping spree of acquisitions in the instant messaging and Internet service sectors in China (Tencent in 2001), Brazil, Russia (Mail.ru in 2007) and other Eastern European countries. Naspers also acquired a controlling interest in, and media groups in Brazil (Editora Abril in 2006), a 9.1% stake in the Chinese Beijing Media Company, in March 2008, the Tradus company (formerly QXL and listed on the London Stock Exchange), which provides an online auction platform and Internet portals in Central and Eastern Europe. Naspers acquired Allegro.pl., the leading online auction site in Poland. In 2008, Naspers also acquired a controlling stake in BuzzCity, a mobile media company providing access to a global advertising network on the mobile Internet for brand owners and agencies [75]. In November 2009, Naspers bought BuscaPé, provider of comparison shopping systems for more than 100 portals and Web sites in Latin America, including Microsoft, Globo and Abril. Soon the company expanded into eMag, a major e-commerce portal in Romania, a 79% stake in Netretail in the Czech Republic in June 2012 and in November 2012 a minority stake in Souq.com, a similar portal in Iran. In 2013, Naspers acquired a stake in Konga.com, the largest Nigerian online marketplace, and in 2013 redBus, the largest Indian bus ticket portal.

**6. The trend emerging**

In contrast to the internationalisation of the Asian Tigers described by Matthews, the internationalisation strategies from the African periphery were motivated primarily by market, asset and efficiency-seeking strategies and less by resource-seeking motives. The observation of the internationalisation of the leading corporations that have diversified operations significantly to gain revenue from operations outside the home country, as discussed in this paper, seem

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Internationalisation of the first movers was motivated by **market and asset-seeking** considerations. The long period of international isolation resulted in 'pent-up' capacity at South African firms. The size of the domestic market is small—GDP growth has slumped from 5% to below 2% in the last few years and is not likely to improve any time soon as a result of domestic political constraints. Market-seeking strategies offered access to the new fast-growing markets in Africa, with competitive labour resources. The market-seeking strategies were coupled by the mining companies' asset and resource-seeking strategies. The diversification of mining operations from South Africa by BHP Billiton, AAC and Gold Fields was motivated by resource-seeking and efficiency-seeking considerations. Access to new mineral resources and new mining companies outside South Africa assisted in reducing the risks associated with empowerment policies, domestic labour market rigidities and associated cost pressures. New explorations uncovering mineral deposits outside South Africa offered potentially higher efficiency and links to emerging markets. The expansion of Sasol into Mozambican gas fields was both motivated by resourceseeking considerations as well as the proprietary technology advantage of its GTL technology.

The expansion of the retailer Shoprite and MTN into African markets was purely market-seeking but facilitated by strategic managerial capabilities and knowledge of the context and complexities of the African market. In this respect South African companies possess a competitive advantage over non-African multinationals aspiring to enter the fast-growing African markets. Knowledge of the African cultural diversity, the different languages and consumption patterns was key to the success in the consumer market but also in the mobile telephone market and money transfer market. Therefore Shoprite linked up with MTN, and later also Vodacom, in supplying access to mobile telephone services and money transfer facilities at the shop outlet. The export-driven international operations of most African firms are market-seeking without exception. The exports by Sonatrach (Algeria) and Sonangol (Angola) are purely marketseeking. The large number of medium-sized African firms engaging in purely commodity exports described by Ibeh et al. [42] only represents the beginning of business globalisation. It is the beginning of revenue stream diversification through foreign sales, but not yet the expansion of operations outside the home market. This type of emerging internationalisation occurs in the exports of food, flowers, wood and textiles. An important observation in this category of emerging internationalisation is the tendency of foreign investment in local enterprise, which then results in export initiatives. This is particularly the case in the floriculture operations in East and Southern Africa, the coffee exports from Ethiopia and Mozambique and the textile exports from East Africa and Mauritius. In this category the so-called 'quota hopping' practice by foreign firms seeking to diversify the location of their operations to

to display the following dominant trends , as will be discussed below.

These massive expansions made Naspers the leading emerging market electronic communications company. The focus of Naspers shifted to electronic trade and communication and is the largest emerging market company with a market capitalisation exceeding US\$40 billion. Naspers is still listed on the JSE, from where it generates more than 70% of its revenue. Naspers occupies the 63rd position on the top 100 nonfinancial developing country companies, with a TNI of 35% [2]. Naspers owned innovative leadership, who engineered strategic business repositioning and e-commerce acquisitions. Naspers operates on all the continents of the world in e-commerce. The strong growth flows from the emerging markets in Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, India, the Middle East and Latin America.

The highest-ranked emerging market nonfinancial company is the Mobile Telephone Network (MTN). MTN is 72.1% owned by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company M-Cell, 23% by Transnet and 4.9% by black empowerment groupings. It runs a GSM 900 technology in its mobile telephone network and grew to a market share in South Africa of approximately 40% by 2001. By 2005, MTN was locked in a slow-growing South African cellular market with two competitors, Vodacom and Cell-C. The expansion strategy in Africa occurred through the use of local partners' branding. This reduced the recognition of the MTN brand and management embarked on a brand consolidation strategy to cut marketing costs and develop a global brand. To deliver a single quality global brand, a new logo was accepted as 'Y'ello'—the MTN logo on a bright yellow square. The single brand logo was negotiated with all stakeholders in each of the countries where MTN operated. A new marketing concept was developed: *glocalisation*. The meant regional communication focussed on local needs and culture but nevertheless still reflected the MTN global brand essence, the brand greeting, the brand personality and the band values ([76, 77], p. 306). The innovative brand marketing strategy proved highly successful, both as a marketing strategy as well as a management tool, since the South African management strengthened managerial control and the working relationship with the local partners in the different countries.

Within only 10 years, MTN expanded operations to 28 countries in Africa and the Middle East. Its TNI is 31%, and its ranking on the top 100 nonfinancial companies in the developing world is 31—the highest of all South African companies in the ranking list in 2013. MTN market expansion was driven by FSA based on ownership advantages in exceptional management strategic vision, knowledge of the African market, the innovative application of brand marketing and the use of leading technology. The control of the company is in the hands of black South African businessmen, who integrated a loose network of single country operators into a single emerging market cellular phone giant.

The health-care expansion of both the Mediclinic Group as well as Netcare was driven by the FSA of medical expertise, the advantage of proprietary knowledge, in seeking new markets. Serious shortages in medical services and the rise of the middle class in Africa alerted medical doctors to the opportunity to expand private health care outside South Africa. The entrepreneurial opportunity was observed, and both health-care groups, established in the early 1980s, established hospitals in Namibia, the Middle East and the UK. These health-care groups target the higher end of the market and have therefore also penetrated the UK and Middle East markets.
