WASHINGTON, D.C., May 24, 1999 ---
Between April and September 1998, the worst months of the "Asian contagion", emerging market stock markets lost nearly 45 percent of their value, with a year-on-year loss for 1998 of 24 percent of the value of internationally tradeable stocks, according to the 1999 edition of
IFC's Emerging Stock Markets Factbook.
The
Factbook
documents the ravages of the crisis on emerging stock markets, through, for example, the IFC Investable Composite index of 1,190 stocks, which measures returns on stocks which are available to foreign investors. Widely considered the most authoritative source of information available on emerging stock markets, the
Factbook
provides statistics on
79 emerging markets for 1998 and earlier years, with a focus on the 51 markets covered by a series of IFC Indexes.
By the end of 1998, the worst crisis year for emerging markets ever recorded, these markets had almost 24,800 listed companies, representing more than half of world stock exchange listings. Their combined market value of $1.9 trillion was equivalent to about 7 percent of world market capitalization, with five of the world's 20 largest stock markets belonging to the category. In terms of world stock trading, more than $1.9 trillion of trades were conducted in emerging markets in 1998, about 8 percent of global stock trades.
The 13th edition of the
Factbook
contains some 370 pages of basic economic data and key trends in capital flows and stock prices, world stock market series, IFC Index features and results, and detailed profiles on individual stock markets. It includes appendices on foreign investment regimes, withholding tax, trading costs and operational risk for investing in emerging stock markets.
The
Factbook
is produced by the Emerging Markets Data Base Unit of IFC. The mission of IFC, part of the World Bank Group, is to promote private sector investment in developing countries which will reduce poverty and improve people's lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses.
Copies of the
Emerging Stock Markets
Factbook
may be ordered from:
Stephanie Hughes at (202) 473-9520 (phone), (202) 974-4805 (fax) or
emdb@ifc.org
(e-mail); or from the World Bank Publications at (703) 661-1580.
Journalists may obtain the
Emerging Stock Markets Factbook
free of charge by contacting
Lana Moriarty at (202) 473-6005 (phone),
(202) 974-4384 (fax) or
lmoriarty@ifc.org
(e-mail).
