EMERGING STOCKMARKETS

EMERGING STOCKMARKETS Despite a series of spectacular financial crises, the 1990s were a decade of dramatic growth for emerging-economy stockmarkets. At the end of 1990, there were 8,920 companies listed on emerging stockmarkets, according to Standard & Poor's “Emerging Stock Markets Factbook”. At the end of 1999, that number had risen to 26,314. These firms' combined market capitalisation of $3.07 trillion amounts to 8.5% of world stockmarket capitalisation. But after posting healthy returns in 1999, financial markets in many emerging economies are showing weaker results so far this year. Of the 25 markets regularly followed by The Economist only six are higher in dollar terms than they were at the end of last year. Thailand's stockmarket, for instance, is down by 42.5% since December 31st 1999. The big exception in Asia is China, where equity markets have risen by almost 50% during the past six months.