Global capital is entering a new phase in which financial returns are no longer the sole determinant of investment decisions. Mexico provides a revealing case of this transformation.
Strategic assets no longer transfer seamlessly between geopolitical blocs, yet transactions still occur. Firms that delay action in anticipation of improved conditions risk falling behind those that proactively develop resilient arrangements.
As great-power rivalry reaches into the plumbing of global trade, governments that spent decades selling their terminals to the most efficient bidder are now scrutinising, capping, and occasionally overturning foreign ownership of them on grounds of national security.
Ports are where the argument about chokepoints begins. Yet steel is not a port, and neither is a chipmaker, an app, or a tyre-maker. Each sector stands on the same ground: ownership is no longer the markets to settle alone.
As the architects of a company’s geographic footprint, executives must recognise the importance of geoeconomic fluency in navigating screening regimes.
