HSBC takes over emerging market PMIs and prepares to unveil world’s first emerging market index

* HSBC announces five new emerging market Purchasing Managers’ Indices (PMIs ) - the largest number of new PMIs ever announced at one time
* Including seven existing emerging market PMIs, HSBC now provides PMI data for 64% of the emerging market economies of Asia, South America and Europe
* First ever PMI announced for South Korea and Taiwan, and new service sector PMIs introduced for Brazil, China and India
* HSBC to use PMIs for composite index and world’s first emerging market index in October - the HSBC EMI

HSBC, the world’s leading international emerging markets bank, announces that it is partnering with Markit, the global financial information services company, to provide a unique resource that will improve the economic understanding of the world’s emerging markets. The partnership combines best in class, Markit-sourced, PMI data with the additional insights created by HSBC’s unrivalled network of economists on the ground in emerging markets.

PMIs are leading indicators of economic conditions. They provide advance indication of economic developments by tracking variables such as new orders, employment and prices based on first hand interviews with panels of companies that closely represent economic sectors. PMIs are amongst the most closely watched of all business surveys; it is estimated that just within the FX and fixed income user community alone, 200,000 users wait for each PMI data announcement to be released** and central banks use them extensively when setting interest rates.

Initially the partnership will provide the following existing and closely-watched PMI reports: China (manufacturing); Czech Republic (manufacturing); India (manufacturing); Poland (manufacturing); Turkey (manufacturing); Brazil (manufacturing); Hong Kong (total economy). The partnership will further expand this data set by publishing the first ever PMIs for South Korea manufacturing and Taiwan manufacturing and the first ever service sector PMIs for Brazil, China and India (allowing for the production of new composite PMIs for these three countries).

HSBC will also introduce a number of new products derived from these data that will create leading economic insights for the world’s emerging markets. The first, and most important, of these products, the world’s first Emerging Markets Index to be derived exclusively from access to PMI data, (The HSBC EMI) will be launched at the IMF conference in Istanbul on 6 October.

Commenting on the partnership, Stephen Green, Group Chairman, HSBC Holdings plc said: “The world’s economic centre of gravity continues to shift from West to East, in particular towards emerging markets. This will continue for several decades. As the world’s leading international emerging markets bank, HSBC fully appreciates and embraces its role in helping to enable the economic growth that improves the living standards of millions of people. The new HSBC Emerging Markets Index will be a valuable tool for policymakers and businesses alike as we work together to understand and respond to the changing nature of the global economy.”

Lance Uggla, Chief Executive Officer of Markit, said: “The Markit PMIs are closely-watched macro-economic indicators. The partnership created between HSBC and Markit is very exciting, leveraging HSBC’s emerging markets expertise with our position as an independent data provider. As a result, we will be able to produce additional regional research that will facilitate a greater understanding of these important, fast growing markets.”

*Based on IMF 2008 GDP purchasing-power-parity valuation for Central & Eastern Europe, Developing Asia, Western Hemisphere.

** According to research conducted by AMR International in 2005.