The chart below shows the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) index returns by from year 1990 to 2011:
Click to enlarge
The index values by year are noted in the table below:
[TABLE=1077]
Note:
“Ghana Stock Exchange introduced the GSE COMPOSITE INDEX (a capitalisation weighted index, using VWAP of GSE-listed companies) in 2011, to replace the GSE ALL SHARE INDEX. Its base date and value is 31.12.10 and 1,000 respectively.”
Source: Annual Reports Ghana
Related:
The manufacturing is still a major contributor to the economies of developed countries despite politicians and others lamenting the loss of manufacturing jobs according to an article in the OECD Observer. Manufacturing in the OECD member nations accounted for some 60% of the global manufacturing value-added in 2010.
Global share of manufacturing value-added in 2010:
Click to enlarge
Some of the key points from the article include:
Source: How manufacturing can create value and jobs, OECD Observer
From A Reality Check on American Manufacturing in Bloomberg BusinessWeek:
Manufacturing matters, especially this year, when industrial Midwestern states are where a big part of the electoral battle is being fought. But globalization, productivity gains, and advances in automation make it unlikely the sector will ever return to its place of prominence in the U.S. economy. Rather than promising to restore manufacturing to unachievable heights, Obama and Romney should focus on policies that can keep the U.S. competitive without wasting resources, awarding special treatment, and undermining sound regulation. (emphasis added)
So despite politicians’ talk of a manufacturing revival in the U.S. it is unlikely to happen anytime soon. The cost savings companies can achieve by locating their production facilities in low-cost labor countries is too high to ignore especially when they are under pressure to generate higher earnings with declining or stagnant sales. The article further noted:
The sector’s overall slide has been under way for decades. Over the past 12 years, U.S. manufacturers have cut 31 percent of their workforce, or nearly 6 million workers. Their contribution to gross domestic product fell to 12.2 percent in 2011 from 22.7 percent in 1970.
Foreign companies continue to pull their listings off the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Some of the reasons for this exodus include the burden of complex regulatory requirements, listing fees, costs, lack of enough liquidity and no significant valuation benefits.
For example, German chemical giant BASF AG made the following statement when it listed on the NYSE:
“By listing BASF shares on the NYSE, we are not only emphasizing our global orientation, but also broadening our shareholder base and creating additional strategic options for making acquisitions on the American market.”
However when BASF decided to delist from the exchange it issued the following statement:
“Our decision to delist from the New York Stock Exchange underlines BASF’s continuous efforts to reduce complexity and costs,” said Dr. Jürgen Hambrecht, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF Aktiengesellschaft.
Source: The Listing and Delisting of German Firms on NYSE and NASDAQ: Were There Any Benefits by Wolfgang Bessler, Fred R. Kaen, Philipp Kurmann, and Jan Zimmermann
Telecom Corp of New Zealand used to trade on the NYSE under the ticker NZT. The company’s stock last traded on the exchange on July 9, 2012. Currently it trades on the OTC exchange with the ticker NZTCY. The current dividend yield is 9.62%.
Japanese electronics maker Hitachi also delisted from the NYSE effective April 12, 2012. Now it trades on the OTC markets with the ticker HTHIY.
Germany’s Elster group, one of the world’s largest electricity, gas and water measurement and control providers, also delisted from the exchange this year and now trades on the OTC markets with the ticker ELTTY.
Update: Elster Group ADR – Terminated Effective 12/6/13. Details here.
Related:
More European Companies Delist from the NYSE
Disclosure: No Positions
The top ten widely held ADRs by institutions as measured by ownership value (in $s) as of August end 2012 are listed below in descending order:
1.Company:Vodafone (VOD)
Current Dividend Yield: 5.14%
Sector: Telecom
Country: UK
2.Company: Baidu Inc (BIDU)
Current Dividend Yield: N/A
Sector: China
Country: Technology
3.Company: Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDS.A)
Current Dividend Yield: 4.81%
Sector: Energy
Country: The Netherlands
4.Company: Daimler AG (DDAIF)
Current Dividend Yield: 5.53%
Sector: Consumer Durables
Country: Germany
5.Company: America Movil SAB DE CV (AMX)
Current Dividend Yield: 1.12%
Sector: Telecom
Country: Mexico
6.Company: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd. (TSM)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.36%
Sector: Technology
Country: Taiwan
7.Company: Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDS.B)
Current Dividend Yield: 4.68%
Sector: Energy
Country: UK
8.Company: Teva Pharmaceuticals Ltd (TEVA)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.47%
Sector: Generic Drugs
Country: Israel
9.Company: BP Plc (BP)
Current Dividend Yield: 4.47%
Sector: Energy
Country: UK
10.Company: Petrobras (PBR)
Current Dividend Yield: 5.18%
Sector: Energy
Country: Brazil
Source: ADR.com
Five of the ADRs from this list (AMX, VOD, BIDU, PBR and TEVA) were also in the widely-held ADRs in 2010. It is not surprising to see global oil giants Royal Dutch Shell, BP and Petrobras. However BP has rebounded strongly from the depths of the Deepwater Horizon spill in April, 2010.
Disclosure: Long PBR
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