Contact: Kathy Walsh, Broad College of Business, (517) 432-7443; or Russ White, University Relations, (517) 432-0923, whiterus@msu.edu
11/4/2004
EAST LANSING, Mich. � Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea are the top most attractive emerging markets, according to the latest Michigan State University�s annual emerging markets potential index (EMPI).
The index, released by the MSU Center for International Business Education and Research (MSU-CIBER) in The Eli Broad College of Business, is available at http://globaledge.msu.edu/ibrd/marketpot.asp
The 2004 EMPI update features Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea at the top of the most attractive emerging markets. China, on the other hand, is steadily climbing up in the index, and now ranks fourth.
At the other extreme are South Africa, Columbia and Venezuela, which are all suffering from an extended economic recession.
The index, which has been published annually by MSU-CIBER since 1995, is based on a broad range of market potential indicators � including market size, market growth rate, market intensity, market consumption, commercial infrastructure, economic freedom, market receptivity and country risk � to determine the attractiveness of 24 countries with emerging markets.
These 24 countries � which are monitored weekly by the The Economist magazine � are generally considered to be among the fastest growing markets in the world.
According to lead researcher Tunga Kiyak, companies use the EMPI in several ways: �The rankings provide an objective basis for prioritizing these countries in the process of planning international market expansion. The online EMPI rankings are interactive, so users can rank emerging markets on the basis of any of the eight dimensions making up the overall index.�
Kiyak noted that managers can also choose to modify the assigned weights in order to fit their own industry�s unique drivers.
�Companies in the food and telecommunication equipment industries, for example, may attach different weights to say, market size,� he said. �Similarly, managers may add additional indicators that are not currently in the MSU-CIBER EMPI as a way of refining the tool for greater precision, or they may add countries to the analysis beyond the 24 EMs that are highlighted by MSU-CIBER.�
Organizations interested in customizing the EMPI may contact S. Tamer Cavusgil, the John William Byington Endowed Chair in Global Marketing for The Eli Broad College of Business and executive director of MSU-CIBER, at (517) 432-4320 or cavusgil@bus.msu.edu.