The Big Picture

Vincent Boland: Brics countries overshadowed by march of China

Two decades after the up and coming group of five economies were touted as game-changers, it seems their collective promise has not been realised

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to the Brics Business Summit via a prerecorded video. The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant of arrest for Mr Putin on suspicion of unlawful deportation of children and unlawful transfer of people from the territory of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. Picture: Getty

Twenty two years ago, on 30 November 2001, a research report dropped on the desks of Goldman Sachs clients around the world that would become one of the most talked-about think pieces of the century. At first glance the paper was a classic piece of sell-side research aimed at drumming up business. Yet, though it reads today like ancient history, its themes still resonate, as we saw last week in South Africa.

The report was ...