Second ranking equities on the Irish Stock Exchange may experience increased interest next week after an article in the influential Barron's magazine suggested they represented exceptional value. The New York-based publication, which many US brokers regard as an investor's bible, said that, unlike the 1990s boom in Asia's "tiger" economies, the Republic's growth was sustainable and would continue.
Under the heading "Celtic Tiger Burning Bright, Ireland Won't Follow Asia's Script", Barron's said demographics favoured the Republic in that the traditional exodus of talent through emigration had been reversed.
This boded well for the Irish economy and stock market, the publication added, as well as the Republic's adoption of the euro.
"Many fund managers will need to increase their positions in Irish stock. And at about 17 times expected 1999 earnings, the Irish market is the cheapest in Europe," Barron's said.
Furthermore, the magazine pointed out, 80 per cent of the market's capitalisation was taken up by the top 10 companies - exclude these from the calculations and the rest of the market traded at just 10 times forward earnings.
Quoting Irish analysts, Barron's drew its readers' attention to Irish Continental Group, Anglo Irish, Fyffes, Jurys, Abbey and Greencore as examples of second-line shares with growth possibilities.
The article concluded by remarking that the planned privatisation of Telecom Eireann, now scheduled for June, would also spur the market.
