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"Their job is to maximize shareholder value, and that requires both short-term and long term investments. And in the long run, these markets are the corporate growth engines of the future."

Many economists predict economic growth in the developing world to outpace the U.S. and Western Europe for possibly a generation to come.

So for IBM, investing in tomorrow's engines today effectively incubates future customers.

And it could yield good will from socially concerned watchdogs and foreign power brokers who can make doing business in their countries easy or difficult.

For Labows and half a dozen IBM teammates, building those bridges will require living in close quarters for four weeks and working side-by-side in Davao City, a sprawling metropolis and port city where the native tongue is Bisaya.

That's an exotic trip for a guy whose only overseas experience came more than a decade ago when he and a few college buddies donned backpacks and partied their way across Western Europe.

Spending by U.S. firms on businesses and real estate abroad rose 21.3 percent to $153.4 billion in 2006, the most recent data available from the U.S. Department of Commerce. More than two thirds of that went to developed countries, but the pace of capital flows to the developing world is rising faster, economists say.

Feeling their way

One big challenge of entering new markets in the developing world is figuring out which wheels to grease and whose hand to shake.

There is no single answer, said Craig Merrigan, head of consumer marketing for Lenovo.

In Russia, markets are fragmented and sometimes dominated by aggressive strongmen.

In Brazil, they're laden with bureaucratic red tape, high import taxes and mandates that require foreign manufacturers to find local supply sources.

But the challenge will be worth it, as long as faster population growth and rising living standards continue to boost emerging economies, said Malcolm Trevillian, president of Chapel Hill Investment Advisors, which helps institutions allocate investments globally.

Investors need to look beyond quarterly results and embrace the future of sales, which can be found in countries with abundant labor and rising consumer classes, Trevillian said.

IBM has 74,000 workers in India. And Bangalore, not RTP, is now the company's largest global work site.

"Big companies are in a war for talent," said Litow of IBM. "A program like this gives IBM an edge."

Yet-to-emerge markets

The best known emerging economies, such as Brazil, Russia, India and China, have seen costs rise significantly, especially for wages, which makes them increasingly expensive manufacturing bases. So the latest waves of interest are in even less-developed places.

"I call it my universal assignment," said Tsegga Siyoum Medhin, originally from Eritrea and now a marketing operations manager for IBM in RTP.

Medhin is studying Swahili in preparation for a six-week mission to Arusha, Tanzania. She and fellow IBM colleagues from around the world will research additional market opportunities for small business and help bring financing and training to rural businesses.

Labows, who is studying Filippino business etiquette from a book, expects to come away from the experience with a more global view of management and developing world needs. His team in rural Davao City includes IBMers from at least six countries.

"There's no question globalization is here," Labows said. "So these are important markets to be looking at."

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