23rd July 2026
Pictet: Climbing the value chain: why emerging market stocks are not what they used to be
The developing world's progress along the global value chain could strengthen the case for emerging market stocks.
For decades, investors evaluated emerging economies according to what they extracted or assembled, rather than how much value they added to what they produced. That distinction was the dividing line between developing and developed markets.
It makes less sense today.
Emerging countries’ progress along the global value chain is obvious on two fronts. To begin with, commodity producers such as Chile, Brazil and Indonesia are capturing more industrial value from their natural resources by expanding into processing and manufacturing.

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