Jim O’Neill, chairman of asset management at Goldman Sachs and the economist who made his name in 2001 as the inventor of the term Brics (Brazil, Russia, India and China) to describe the four most important emerging markets, has revisited his theory. A new group of countries – Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Turkey (or 'MIKTs') – need to be considered alongside Brics, according to O’Neill, due to their growth prospects and potential importance to global markets.

As riots across the Middle East shake investor confidence in some emerging markets, some think Turkey stands out as an attractive, democratic, stable option. The economy has grown in seven of the last eight years - at a rate of 7.3% in 2010 - equity markets are just shy of record levels and elections in five months look likely to return the incumbent pro-business administration. All this could signal the start of an M&A boom, according to corporate finance professionals.