Risk assessment when entering a new market
What to check before entering an unfamiliar jurisdiction: legal environment, availability of data, enforcement practice and local participants.
Updated 3 August 2026 · 8 min read
The decision to enter a new market is usually made on economic indicators, and fails because of unaccounted environmental factors: unpredictable enforcement, opaque local partners, hidden connections between the regulator and market participants. These circumstances do not appear in market-size reports, but they determine whether the business can actually operate.
The material examines the structure of country risk assessment for a business decision: how a formal rating differs from practice, how the availability of data for future counterparty checks is assessed, why local court statistics matter more than a general investment climate rating, and how local partners are checked before signing.
Who this material is for
- for companies before entering a new country
- for investors with a cross-border portfolio
- legal and compliance teams
What it covers
- legal environment and enforcement practice
- availability of registries for future checks
- local participants and their connections
- sanctions and regulatory limitations
- market exit scenarios
The material is analytical in nature and does not constitute legal, tax or investment advice regarding any specific country.
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