From a sample of 13 firms, representing some 60 percent of market capitalization, stock prices between 2001 and mid-2005 rose 1.5 times while earnings per share increased 0.5 times. For conglomerates, stock prices increased almost 2.5 times, while earnings per share increased by 0.6 times.
The IMF experts suggested that such large spreads were usually due to the weaknesses in market infrastructure and the fact that share prices have been driven up by speculative demand.