Research Methodology
Supported by Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB), the Economist Intelligence Unit has developed the Asia Competition Barometer with the aim of understanding the changing market dynamics in key sectors and assessing the intensity of competition in them. Drawing upon company-level data on profitability and other indicators, the Barometer quantifies the changing dynamics of competitiveness in Asia for select industries between 2004 and 2009.
This report focuses on the Barometer findings for the petrochemicals and chemicals manufacturing (PeC) sector. Assessing a universe of over 550 PeC companies that are publicly listed in eight countries—China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam—the Barometer examines changing profitability and the competition landscape for the sector.
The Barometer has two dimensions: profitability and market concentration. To assess the aggregate profitability of the PeC sector in Asia, the EIU developed a composite index of five ratios that each represents a different aspect of a company’s profitability. To assess market concentration, the EIU calculated the Herfindahl-Hirschmann Index (HHI) for the PeC sector in Asia from 2004 to 2009. A measure of the size of companies in relation to the industry, and an indicator of the amount of competition among them, the HHI is defined as the sum of the squares of the market shares of the 50 largest firms from the universe of over 550 listed companies assessed.
Other reports in this series look at the information technology services, pharmaceuticals, precision engineering, and transport and logistics sectors in Asia.
