A three-way management structure and an increasingly competitive market have provided a multitude of challenges for rail operator Eurostar. Now the liberalisation of the European passenger rail market is set to create yet more challenges, as well as opportunities, according to the company's chairman, Richard Brown.

Latvia's minister of finance, Andris Vilks, talks about the country's incredible recovery from severe recession in 2009 to being one of the EU's fastest growing economies in 2012.

Russian gold mining company Nordgold has expanded through many developing markets since its inception in 2007, and is looking to continue growing in regions that more established operators have tended to avoid.

For years, Tajikistan's economy has been heavily reliant on remittances from Russia, with a severe lack of private investment from both foreign and domestic business. But while Western companies remain cautious about entering the country, the former Soviet republic's vast gold and silver deposits could yet provide a China-fuelled investment boom.

Reviving the US manufacturing industry could cure the country of its economic and employment ills. But convincing companies to relocate is proving difficult, even with the price of offshoring to China on the up.

As the capacity for embassies and diplomats to target and attract investment grows, countries are becoming increasingly eager to restructure their operations in a bid to best utilise these new promotional agents.

The rising price of labour is one reason for the decline in automotive manufacturing in the UK in recent years, but this has not stopped Japanese car manufacturer Toyota from increasing its operations in the country. UK deputy managing director Tony Walker explains why such labour costs should not stop the UK from being a successful car producing country.

Derby was one of the key cities in the UK during the Industrial Revolution, and that spirit has remained as it has set itself as one of the country's hubs for high-tech industries such as automotives and gaming.

Despite its small size, Antigua and Barbuda's economic integration with other Caribbean jurisdictions gives its companies a huge market to do business with, says the minister of finance, economy and public administration. However, the island's image of being a tax haven is one that will have to be shed in order to achieve bigger growth.