The Republic is set to move beyond the Celtic Tiger and become a major global player, the chief executive of Enterprise Ireland told a seminar at UCD's Smurfit School of Business yesterday.
"Celtic Tiger is a wording or a description that best suits a developing economy," Frank Ryan told attendees. "Tiger economies don't hang around for very long. We've moved on from that."
The event, Growing Successful Companies, was jointly hosted by Enterprise Ireland and the business school and focused on how Irish firms could target international markets such as the US. It featured a panel of US executives, including the president of Tiffany, Jim Quinn.
Representatives from more than 30 Irish firms were invited to attend. The panel's topics included how to build a corporate identity, achieving growth through acquisitions and capital markets.
The US has proven to be a major market for Irish business. Irish investment in the US has increased from $2.9 billion (€2.3 billion) in 1994 to $21 billion in 2004 and Irish companies employ 55,000 people in the US, according to Enterprise Ireland.
"The current environment for funding in the US is robust," said Jim Hynes, founder and chairman of Hynes Capital Resources. He pointed to hedge funds, private equity funds and buyout firms as ways to raise equity capital.
During his presentation, John Duffy, president and chief executive of New York investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Wood, said there was "enormous opportunity" in the Republic.
He added there was strong potential growth in the financial services sector as money and wealth management would be the "next generation".
"I don't think that there's any reason that Dublin really can't become the Switzerland of the 21st century," Mr Duffy said.
A co-operative government and good education had clearly been driving economic activity for the last 20 years, he added.
