Request a demo    16 October 2017 FROM THE CEO OF EMIS If I had to define the philosophy of EMIS as a company I would say that we are “in, on and for emerging markets”. But what defines a country as an emerging market? There is no established or globally accepted set of rules that allows for straightforward categorisation of economies in terms of their development stage. The IMF, Dow Jones, Morgan Stanley, S&P and Russell all have differing lists of emerging markets.  FTSE Russell recently announced that they had upgraded Poland to developed market status in acknowledgement of  the progress of its economy and capital market and it is the first Central and Eastern European country to be promoted to the highest tier. It is gratifying to see Poland’s progress recognized, particularly as it was the first country EMIS entered in 1994 and remains a hugely important market for us. But it is unlikely that other organisations are likely to reclassify Poland any time soon, underlining the subjective nature of EM categorisation.  From an EMIS point of view, our list of emerging markets is perhaps the broadest and most inclusive of all. We include the smallest “frontier” markets such as those in Africa where economic development is still at a very early stage, large and sophisticated economies such as South Korea that outstrip some Western economies in terms of development and, of course, China despite it being the world’s second largest economy. Our list of emerging markets is based on the remaining potential for growth of a country in terms of the overall size of its economy and in the income and living standards of it population.  Countries are often eager to shed the “emerging market” tag due to its association with volatility and risk. But I believe it should be viewed positively and as emblematic of high potential for growth and progress. After all, with their sluggish economies and stagnant living standards, developed countries are not exactly shining examples right now. Guy Dunn P.S. Here are some articles I found on EMIS last week on this issue. POLAND: MIND THE GAP! The decision made by FTSE Russell has raised the prestige of Poland, but it won't change the fact that the country is still far behind the wealthiest countries of the world.    Read more    IMF RAISES ITS GDP GROWTH FORECAST FOR POLAND The International Monetary Fund has raised the forecast of Poland's GDP growth in 2017 by 0.2 pps to 3.8 percent. Polish economists find the new forecast conservative.    Read more    FTSE RUSSELL UPGRADES POLAND FROM EMERGING TO DEVELOPED MARKET FTSE Russell congratulates Poland and Kuwait on meeting the requirements for attaining Developed and Secondary Emerging market status respectively.    Read more    INFOGRAPHIC OF THE WEEK RUSSIA OIL & GAS SECTOR REPORT 2017/2018 Russia is a major producer and exporter of oil and natural gas. The country holds the world’s largest proven natural gas reserves (25% of the total) and ranks seventh in terms of crude oil reserves (5.4% of the total).     Click to view it full screen    CEIC DATA POINT OF THE WEEK CEIC Data is a sister company of EMIS and part of the Euromoney Data Division TOURISM ARRIVALS 2017 - THAILAND The most popular country for tourist arrivals in the top 6 ASEAN countries is Thailand (with Malaysia in second position). However, the same cannot be said for their YoY growth figures in comparison to the other countries.    Click to view it full screen    WEEKLY NEWS SUMMARY Below are the most read articles in the past week on EMIS Perspectives, our daily blog of emerging market news and insights.     ASIA     CHINA SEES SURGE IN TOURISM REVENUE DURING NATIONAL HOLIDAY The number of tourists travelled around Chinese mainland during the National Day holiday has increased by 11.9 percent to 705 million this year, generating $87.7 billion of revenue, Shanghai Daily reported.    Read more    INDIA AIMS TO REDUCE DEPENDENCY ON CHINA FOR PHARMACEUTICAL GOODS India has planned to come up with a series of steps to limit its reliance on China’s pharmaceutical companies, Times of India reported based on comments from health ministry officials.     Read more    LAOS SEES THAILAND AS TOP TRADING PARTNER IN 2017 Laos’ total value of exports to Thailand is expected to increase 46.9 percent year-on-year to $1.9 billion in 2017, the Nation noted referring to data from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.     Read more                  LATIN AMERICA               MEXICO-CANADA TRADE RISES IN AUGUST The commercial trade between Mexico and Canada increased significantly in August, M-Brain News Monitoring reported citing figures released by the Canadian national statistical agency.     Read more    IBGE: BRAZIL'S HARVEST TO INCREASE 30.3% IN 2017 Brazil´s harvest of grain, legumes and oilseeds will increase 30.3% during this year, totalizing 242mn tons. This forecast was announced, yesterday, by IBGE, the federal institute for statistics.    Read more    CAPACITY UTILIZATION IN ARGENTINIAN MANUFACTURING SECTOR UP 2.2% M/M AND 3.7% Y/Y IN AUGUST Capacity utilization in Argentina’s manufacturing sector increased 2.2% m/m to 67.3% in August, CEEMarketWatch reported citing figures released by the local statistics office INDEC.    Read more         EMERGING EUROPE      POLAND TO SOON GET EU APPROVAL ON POWER CAPACITY MARKET Poland will soon get the EU approval on the establishment of a power sector capacity market, PAP reported referring to Energy Minister Krzysztof Tchorzewski.     Read more    RUSSIA'S ROSNEFT GETS 30% STAKE IN LARGEST MEDITERRANEAN SEA GAS FIELD ZOHR Russia's oil major Rosneft acquires a 30% share in the concessions agreement for the development of the Egyptian Zohr field, the largest gas field in the Mediterranean Sea, from Italy's Eni, BBJ - Energy Today reported.    Read more    POLAND PLANS TO SCRAP EXCISE TAX ON LOCAL CIDER Poland plans to abolish excise tax and the use of excise tax bands on bottles for local cider producers, PNB reported referring to a last week statement by Deputy PM Mateusz Morawiecki.    Read more              MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA           ECONOMIC RISKS INCREASE FOR PAKISTAN AFTER IMF PROGRAMME ENDS Economic vulnerabilities for Pakistan have increased after the end of the IMF programme in the country in the amount of 2016, DPA reported referring to a new World Bank report.    Read more    SAUDI ARABIA, RUSSIA TO DISCUSS CO-OPERATION IN DEFENCE AND ECONOMY Saudi Arabia's King Salman has arrived on a landmark four-day visit to Moscow on Wednesday to discuss possibilities to strengthen bilateral relations, CEEMarketWatch reported.     Read more    IVORY COAST AGREES ANOTHER USD 103MN DEBT RELIEF WITH SPAIN Ivory Coast and Spain have come to an agreement on how to settle XOF 67.3bn (EUR 102.6mn) debt, CEEMarketWatch reported.     Read more    ABOUT EMIS EMIS operates in and reports on countries where high reward goes hand-in-hand with high risk. We bring you time-sensitive, hard-to-get, relevant news, research and analytical data, peer comparisons and more for over 120 emerging markets.     Read more    EMIS CHARTING TOOL EMIS CHARTS uses selected data points from the subscription-based EMIS service, to provide you with an interactive overview of sectors, key players and macroeconomic trends across 120+ emerging markets and allows you to create your own charts.     Try it out now    EMIS IN NUMBERS 125 countries  2M+  companies  58,000 articles per day 235 million searchable archive  250 industries  EMIS VIDEO SIGN IN HERE Copyright © 2017 EMIS, all rights reserved.