Go Global Market Compass™

It ranks up to 8 of 30 international markets for one specific company. You choose your expansion type (goods export, consumer brand, tech and B2B services, or capital-heavy investment) and your entry mode. The tool then runs five knock-out gates and scores seven pillars — demand, development stage, market access and tax, readiness and cost, distance and network, competition, and risk — into a 0–100 score with a Go, Test, Park or Not-yet call and a Beachhead → Scale → Stretch sequence.

Seven: direct exporting, cross-border e-commerce, distributors or agents, licensing, franchising, joint ventures and wholly owned subsidiaries. Each mode tilts the pillar weights (a subsidiary puts more weight on risk; e-commerce more on demand and access), switches on different legal gates (franchise registration, outbound investment certificates) and changes which tax line is measured — tariffs for goods, royalty withholding for licensing and franchising, treaty relief on dividends for joint ventures and subsidiaries.

Macro figures come from the IMF World Economic Outlook (GDP, population and growth), the World Bank 2026–2027 income classification and the World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators (2024), pulled on 15 September 2026. Tax, treaty and trade-agreement data come from the Go Global Tax Obligations Navigator, which links every rate to the national tax authority that published it. Legal gates cite the regulator or a named law firm: the US FTC, Indonesia BPJPH, the European Commission, US Customs and Border Protection, the White House, DLA Piper and Legal 500.

A condition that stops entry regardless of how attractive a market looks. Examples in the tool: China requires a franchisor to have run at least two company-owned units for a year; Indonesia’s GR 35/2024 requires three years of operation, two years of audited accounts and registered IP before franchise registration; Malaysia requires Section 54 approval for foreign franchisors; Vietnam requires a franchised system to have operated for at least one year. A failed gate turns the call into "Not yet" — fix the condition or choose a lighter entry mode.

Because the biggest market is rarely the best first market. There is no income tax treaty in force between the United States and Vietnam, so royalties are withheld at 30% and a Vietnamese company loses at least 10 percentage points above its foreign tax credit. Vietnamese-origin goods face a 20% reciprocal tariff, duty-free de minimis for small parcels ended on 29 August 2025, and competition is intense. The US often lands in the Stretch stage — worth entering once you have proof, cash and a network.

Vietnam taxes companies on worldwide income and credits foreign tax only up to the Vietnamese tax on the same income. Leakage is therefore the host-country withholding rate minus your Vietnamese corporate income tax rate, whenever that difference is positive. Under Law 67/2025/QH15 the Vietnamese rate is 20% standard, 17% for revenue of VND 3–50 billion and 15% up to VND 3 billion — so smaller firms lose more to the same foreign withholding. The tool asks for your revenue band and whether you hold a tax residence certificate.

Yes. Every pillar score is an automatic starting point built from official indicators and your answers — you can nudge any pillar for any market with local knowledge, and reset it at any time. You can also switch to custom weights. The notes under each score show exactly which figure or rule produced it, with a link to the source.

Go means a score of 70 or more with no gate failed — a beachhead or scale candidate. Test means 55–69: try a low-capital mode such as a distributor, e-commerce or a licence, then re-score after six months. Park means below 55 for this type and mode. Not yet means at least one gate failed. Any pillar weighted 15 or more that scores 1 or below is flagged for review even when the total looks healthy, so an average never hides a fatal hole.

No. Figures are published by third parties, compiled as-is, and may change; we do not independently verify the underlying data. The scoring formulas are an analytical method, not a forecast. Use the result to decide where to look harder, then confirm with licensed advisers in each market before committing capital.

Every six months, and immediately when a trigger event lands on one of your markets. The tool lists the dated events that apply to your choices — for example Indonesia’s halal certification deadline of 17 October 2026 and the EU Deforestation Regulation from 30 December 2026.