The Broad School's Center for International Business Education and Research MSU-CIBER has just released its semi-annual market potential index for emerging markets EMPI.The September 2003 update of the EMPI features Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea at the top of the most attractive emerging markets (EMs). According to the report, all three countries quickly recovered from the recent Asian financial crisis, and are experiencing rapid growth rates. China ranks fifth in the release. At the other extreme are three Latin American countries, Argentina, Columbia and Venezuela, all suffering from an extended economic recession.The index, which has been published semi-annually by MSU-CIBER since 1995, is based on a broad range of market potential indicators (including market , market growth rate, market intensity, market consumption, commercial infrastructure, economic freedom, market receptivity, and country risk) to determine the attractiveness of 24 countries with emerging markets. These 24 countries - which are monitored weekly by the The Economist magazine - are generally considered to be among the fastest growing markets in the world.According to lead researcher S. Tamer Cavusgil companies use the EMPI in several ways. "The rankings provide an objective basis for prioritizing these countries in the process of planning international market expansion," he explained. "The on-line EMPI rankings are interactive, so users can rank EMs on the basis on any of the eight dimensions making up the overall index."Cavusgil noted that managers can also choose to modify the assigned weights in order to fit the unique drivers of their own industry. "Companies in the food and telecommunication equipment industries, for example, may attach different weights to say, market ," he said. "Similarly, managers may add additional indicators that are not currently in the MSU-CIBER EMPI as a way of refining the tool for greater precision, or they may add countries to the analysis beyond the 24 EMs that are highlighted by MSU-CIBER."Organizations interested in customizing the EMPI can contact S. Tamer Cavusgil, the John William Byington Endowed Chair in Global Marketing for the Eli Broad College of Business and Executive Director of MSU-CIBER (International Business Center at (517) 432-4320 or cavusgil@bus.msu.edu.