From BRIC To MIST: The New Story Of Emerging Market Growth

Sept. 12, 2012 - PRLog -- In addition to the catchy BRIC acronym, a new one is being coined by Goldman Sachs' Jim O'Neill in order to promote a list of four nations in line to be the next high-growth countries. The 'MIST' includes Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Turkey. The MIST economies have the right mix of stimuli in terms of favorable demographics and rising productivity, which are needed for high growth. Factors generally considered in the selection of these "growth economies" picked by Goldman include sound fiscal policies, sustainable balance of payments and a contributing financial sector.

The MIST represents the largest markets in Goldman's N-11 Equity Fund, which seeks long-term capital appreciation. Other nations comprising the fund include Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Vietnam, Egypt and Philippines. Investors have started moving their money ($15B last year) out of the BRIC countries, since growth in the member nations failed to meet expectations.

The engine of BRIC economies is now sputtering, and initial hopes that the economies could withstand the pressure of an economic slowdown are fading away. Due to structural problems, and the countries' inability (as of now) to kick start domestic consumption to make up for lost growth, investors have already called back their money. The new block, MIST, offers a diverse economic platform and the right catalysts for rapid growth amongst the emerging economies. Investors should particularly follow Mexico due to its low cost advantage, and Turkey for its large young population with a proven record of entrepreneurship.

Source URL: http://seekingalpha.com/article/860641-from-bric-to-mist-...