Selected Press Release

Brigid Janssen
Phone: (202) 458-4698
Fax: (202) 974-4384
E-mail: BJanssen@ifc.org


WASHINGTON, D.C., April 8, 1998—The International Finance Corporation’s coverage of stock markets in developing and emerging countries has become more comprehensive with the addition of Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Romania and Ukraine.  The five new countries have been added to the Frontier Markets index series, which now covers 18 emerging stock markets, consisting of 299 stocks with a combined market value of more than $18.5 billion at the end of March.

The five new indexes include eight Croatian stocks with a market capitalization of  $1.76 billion, 12 Estonian stocks (at $925 million), 11 Latvian stocks ($208 million), 35 Romanian stocks ($802 million), and 17 Ukrainian stocks ($668 million). The indexes all have base dates of Dec. 31, 1997.

IFC has developed several well-known series of indexes for investors interested in tracking stock markets in developing countries. The IFC Investable indexes measure returns on stocks which are available to foreign investors.  The IFC Global indexes represent the performance of the most active stocks in their respective stock markets, even if they are unavailable to foreign investors, and are designed as the broadest possible indicator of market movements. Both are contained in the publication, Monthly Review of Emerging Stock Markets.

IFC constructs the Frontier Market index using the groundrules for its Global index, except Frontier Market indexes are calculated on a monthly, rather than daily basis, and are not included into the IFC Global Composite index

IFC provides comprehensive and reliable statistics on emerging stock market performance with the goal of stimulating the flow of private capital to emerging markets.  It is the world’s leading publisher of data on stock markets in developing countries.

IFC, part of the World Bank Group, fosters economic growth in the developing world by financing private sector investments, mobilizing capital in international financial markets and providing technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses.