Hispanic Business Stock Index Debuts; Thirteen Companies Chosen to Track the U.S. Hispanic Economy

Business Wire, March 4, 2003

Business Editors

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 4, 2003

Hispanic Business Inc., publisher of Hispanic Business magazine, today announced a new barometer to track the growth and health of the U.S. Hispanic economy. HispanTelligence(R), the research division of Hispanic Business Inc., has developed the Hispanic Business Stock Index (HBSI)(TM), which will debut in the March issue. Daily updates of the HBSI will also be available online at http://www.hispanicbusiness.com.

The U.S. Hispanic economy has been called "a nation within a nation." While other large Hispanic economies, such as the countries of Mexico, Spain, and Argentina, all have their own equity markets and stock indexes, the U.S. Hispanic market never has -- until now.

In the same way that other leading indexes track countries or industries, the HBSI provides a spot-check barometer of conditions for companies in the U.S. Hispanic market.

The HBSI includes publicly traded companies that are majority Hispanic-owned or whose main focus is the U.S. Hispanic market, regardless of the shareholders' ethnicity. Only stocks traded in the United States on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NASDAQ, the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), or over-the-counter (OTC) were considered for selection. Total market capitalization of the HBSI companies was $15.7 billion as of December 2002, and their total sales for 2001 amounted to $8.4 billion. The sector with the most companies is media, followed by financial services and banking.

Thirteen companies, across a wide spectrum of sectors, fulfill the criteria: Univision (NYSE: UVN), Popular Inc. (NASDAQ: BPOP), Hispanic Broadcasting Corp. (NYSE: HSP), International Bancshares Corp. (NASDAQ: IBOC), Entravision Communications (NYSE: EVC), Spanish Broadcasting System (NASDAQ: SBSA), Gruma Corp. (NYSE: GMK), Movado Corp. (NYSE: MOV), MasTec Inc. (NYSE: MTZ), Perry Ellis International (NASDAQ: PERY), United PamAm Financial (NASDAQ: UPFC), Metrocorp Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: MCBI), and Radio Unica (OTC: UNCA).

The March issue of Hispanic Business also features a special report on "Captains of Capital" -- Hispanic CEOs notable for finding alternative sources of growth capital. The businesses profiled in this financial report are Sterling Financial, a Florida-based investment-banking firm; Somerset Capital Group, a Connecticut-based high-tech and capital equipment leasing firm; and publicly traded MasTec Inc., a Florida-based telecommunications and infrastructure firm. Building on the access-to-capital theme, this issue also features an interview with Eduardo Aguirre Jr., vice-chairman and COO of the Export-Import Bank.

About Hispanic Business Inc.

Now in its 24th year, Hispanic Business Inc., based in Santa Barbara, California, is an award-winning publishing and information services company. Hispanic Business magazine, the nation's leading source of information for and about Hispanic professionals and entrepreneurs, is the company's flagship publication. Other products and educational services include SuperOnda magazine, HireDiversity.com Career Expos, the annual EOY (Entrepreneur of the Year) Awards Gala, and the Hispanic Business Board of Economists (BOE) U.S. Hispanic Economic Summit. For additional information, visit the company's Web site at http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/pr.> Hispanic Business(R) and HispanTelligence(R) are registered trademarks of Hispanic Business Inc. Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

(C) 2003 Hispanic Business Inc. All rights reserved.

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