KWR International Advisor #24 January 2004

[ Approach ]

[ Capabilities ]

[ Staff ]

[ Clients ]

[ Press ]

[ Library ]

[ Contact ]

(click here to return to the table of contents)

Emerging Market Briefs

By Scott B. MacDonald

Afghanistan – Elections Scheduled: Afghanistan has long been held up as a model of a failed state. Invaded and occupied by the Russians, torn apart by civil war, conquered by the zealots of the Taliban and their al-Qaeda allies, the central Asian country has a new constitution and scheduled elections for June 2004. President Hamid Karzai fought and won a presidential system, which hopefully the majority of Afghans will have the right to vote for in June. The new constitution establishes an Islamic Republic in which the president will rule with the national assembly. Women are recognized as equal citizens and will have close to one fifth of the lower-house seats reserved for them. Two official languages are recognized – Pashtu and Dari. The president’s powers are extensive, but are checked by the national assembly, which is given the right of say in fundamental policies, some monetary matters and the right to censure ministers.

Argentina - Argentina’s official unemployment rate has dropped from 21.5 percent in May 2002 to 14.3 percent in third-quarter 2003. However, the data is not reliable because it includes government subsidies to hundreds of thousands of people who, though they are not working, are listed as employed simply because they are receiving government money, Buenos Aires daily Clarin reports.

eMergingPortfolio.com Fund Research tracks country/regional weightings and fund flow data on the widest universe of funds available to emerging market participants, including more than 1,500 emerging market and international equity and bond funds with $600 billion in capital and registered in all the world's major domiciles. http://www.emergingportfolio.com/fundproducts.cfm. eMergingPortfolio.com also offers customized financial analysis, data and content management services on emerging and international markets for corporate and financial Internet sites. For more information, contact: Dwight Ingalsbe, Tel: 617-864-4999, x. 26,
Email: ingalsbe@gipinc.com.

Bhutan - At least 50 people -- including 32 soldiers -- have been killed in southern Bhutan in battles between government troops and Indian separatist rebels, according to reports on Dec. 17. More than 80 soldiers have been wounded and rebels from India's eastern state of Assam say 16 of their fighters have been killed and 50 wounded since fighting started on Dec. 15. The operation is the first Bhutan’s 10,000-member army has mounted against the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa) and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), which have been hiding from Indian troops inside Bhutan.

India - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov and Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes signed a $1.5 billion deal on Jan. 20 to sell the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov to the Indian navy. Russia will refurbish the carrier before delivery in 2008. India is acquiring 28 MIG-29MK jets for the carrier in the deal as well as unspecified parts and components for the carrier, likely to include new missile and radar systems and helicopters.

Editor: Dr. Scott B. MacDonald, Sr. Consultant

Deputy Editors: Dr. Jonathan Lemco, Director and Sr. Consultant and Robert Windorf, Senior Consultant

Associate Editor: Darin Feldman

Publisher: Keith W. Rabin, President

Web Design: Michael Feldman, Sr. Consultant

Contributing Writers to this Edition: Scott B. MacDonald, Keith W. Rabin, Jonathan Lemco, Jonathan Hopfner Jean-Marc Blanchard and Michael Priess

To obtain your free subscription to the KWR International Advisor, please click here to register for the KWR Advisor mailing list

For information concerning advertising, please contact: Advertising@kwrintl.com