“Emerging countries account for 65% of the world’s GDP growth”. The change in the trend of the contribution of emerging countries to the world’s GDP growth in relation to developed economies is one of the most important shifts in the world’s economic scenario of this decade, said Antonio Zoido, Chairman of BME, during his inaugural keynote address today on the occasion of the opening of the X Latibex Forum, which BME hosts in Madrid over three days. The event will bring together over 60 companies from both sides of the Atlantic with European investors.
At the end of the 1990s these countries accounted for 35% of the world’s GDP growth against a 65% share for developed countries. Today the proportion is just the opposite.
Attending the opening, during which Antonio Zoido thanked H.M Juan Carlos I, King of Spain, for his support by accepting to act as the X Latibex Forum’s President of Honour, were Francisco González, Chairman of BBVA, Rubens Ghilardi, Chairman of Copel, Antonio Brufau, Chairman of Repsol YPF and César Alierta, Chairman of Telefónica.
The BME Chairman stated that the data on the performance of economies of emerging countries are so significant that the distribution of the different weightings of regional economies in the world’s GDP has changed. “In this decade, the contribution of emerging countries to the world’s GDP has increased from only a third of the world’s GDP to a 45% share in global terms today, and it is likely that their contribution to the world’s GDP equals that of developed countries by 2012”, he said.
“The favourable trend in the Latin American region in the context of today’s difficult market conditions has also been possible thanks to the development of capital markets”, said Antonio Zoido. Stock exchanges and local institutional investors have experienced the same level of development and their role is beyond question. For instance in 2007 the Brazilian stock exchange ranked, for the first time, among the 10 exchanges in the world that channelled most financing to listed companies. Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME) ranked second.
The Chairman of BME highlighted that “Spain’s investments in Latin America have proved profitable and should continue so because the region is going to keep up its contribution to the world’s economic growth. Thanks to this, the revenue generated by Spanish companies is more diversified today: a third of the profits generated by the IBEX 35 companies come from Latin America and over 400 Spanish companies have subsidiaries in the region”.
Latibex continues accurately to reflect the performance of the Latin American region. It currently comprises 38 leading Latin American stocks and its success lies precisely in its capacity to attract and retain the major companies in the region. This year, in which new listings have been particularly scarce, has seen the arrival of a new company on Latibex, namely Telmex Internacional, which will lead Telmex group’s expansion in Latin America.
During his appearance Antonio Zoido also highlighted the successful launch of the ETF issued on the FTSE Latibex Top. In less than a year, this ETF issued by BBVA, has raised 450 million euros, becoming the largest ETF in Europe and the second largest in the world.
Private investors and medium-sized investment funds continue to be the most active on the market. They are also the main beneficiaries of the advantages of the structure provided by Latibex, which allows them to trade Latin American shares in euros just as easily and with the same costs as is the case with Spanish stocks listed on the stock exchange.
The value of trust prevails in times of uncertainty. BME has always regarded the communication and interaction among all economic agents under any circumstances and year after year as an essential contribution to the construction of confidence. This is why we started the first Latibex Forum in 1999. Over these ten Forums more than 5,000 attenders have come together with hundreds of companies on more than 160 panels and round tables and held over 4,500 one to one meetings.
The Chairman of BME has concluded his speech by stressing the great opportunity provided by the Latibex Forum to hear the fresh and original views of the main agents of economic growth on what is really happening in Latin America.
