CHICAGO, IL , today announced the anticipated listing of its
frontier countries portfolio, designed to provide access to certain
equity markets in the Middle East and North Africa. The new
portfolio is expected to begin trading on July 9, 2008 on the
NASDAQ Stock Market�.
The ticker symbol and ETF portfolio name follows:
-- PMNA - PowerShares MENA Frontier Counties Portfolio
"The PowerShares MENA Frontier Countries Portfolio replicates an
index that takes into account certain foreign ownership limitations
encountered when investing in certain countries in the Middle East
and North Africa," said Bruce Bond, president and CEO of Invesco
PowerShares. "We believe PMNA represents a compelling new vehicle
for investors to access frontier equity markets of the MENA
region."
The PowerShares MENA Frontier Countries Portfolio (PMNA) is
based on the NASDAQ OMX Middle East North Africa Index(SM). This
Index is designed to measure the performance of the largest and
most liquid securities of companies domiciled in Middle Eastern and
North African countries included in the Index that have smaller
economies or less developed capital markets than traditional
emerging markets. The Index currently includes securities domiciled
in: Egypt, Morocco, Oman, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar
and United Arab Emirates (Index currently includes the emirates of
Dubai and Abu Dhabi).
Many of these frontier countries impose restrictions on foreign
investments, including foreign ownership limitations. These
restrictions may vary from issuer to issuer. At each quarterly
rebalance and reconstitution, NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc., the index
provider, takes into account the current foreign ownership
limitations and locked-in stock. In addition, when a security in
the Index reaches its limitations on foreign ownership, it will be
removed from the Underlying Index.
An investment in securities of frontier market countries
involves risks not associated with investments in securities of
developed countries.
Invesco PowerShares is leading the intelligent ETF revolution
through its family of more than 100 domestic and international
index-based and actively managed exchange-traded funds. With assets
under management as of April 30, 2008 of $13.86 billion,
PowerShares ETFs trade on all of the major U.S. stock exchanges
that trade ETFs. For more information, please visit us at
www.invescopowershares.com.
Invesco PowerShares is a part of Invesco Ltd., a leading
independent global investment management company dedicated to
helping people worldwide build their financial security. By
delivering the combined power of its distinctive worldwide
investment management capabilities, including AIM, Atlantic Trust,
Invesco, Perpetual, PowerShares, Trimark, and WL Ross, Invesco
provides a comprehensive array of enduring investment solutions for
retail, institutional and high-net-worth clients around the world.
Operating in 20 countries, the company is currently listed on the
New York Stock Exchange under the symbol IVZ. Additional
information is available at www.invesco.com.
There are risks involved with investing in ETFs including
possible loss of money. Shares are not actively managed and are
subject to risk similar to stocks and covered call options, as well
as those risks related to short selling and margin maintenance.
Small- and Medium-Sized Company Risk Information
An investment in securities of small and medium-sized companies
involves greater risk than is customarily associated with investing
in more established, larger sized companies.
Foreign Risk Information
An investment in the securities of non-U.S. issuers involves
risks beyond those associated with investments in U.S. securities,
including, but not limited to: greater market volatility, the
availability of less reliable financial information, higher
transactional and custody costs, taxation by foreign governments,
decreased market liquidity, political instability, negative impact
of changes in currency exchange rates or foreign governmental
regulation, currency risk, fluctuation due to changes in interest
rates, effects of monetary policies issued by the United States,
foreign governments, central banks or supranational entities and
currency controls or other national or global political economic
developments, among others.
Frontier Market Risk Information
An investment in securities of frontier countries involves risks
not associated with investments in securities of developed
countries, including, but not limited to: generally smaller
economies or less developed capital markets than traditional
emerging markets, economies that are less correlated to global
economic cycles than those of their more developed counterparts,
low trading volumes, potential for extreme price volatility and
illiquidity, which may be further heightened by the actions of a
few major investors, governments of many frontier countries in
which the Fund invests may exercise substantial influence over many
aspects of the private sector (in some cases, the governments of
such frontier countries may own or control certain companies),
government action, heavy dependency upon international trade which
has been and may continue to be, adversely affected by trade
barriers, exchange controls, managed adjustments in relative
currency values and other protectionist measures imposed or
negotiated by the countries with which they trade, and risks
associated with certain foreign governments in countries in which
the Fund invests levying withholding or other taxes on dividend and
interest income, sanctions or embargoes imposed by the U.S.
government and the United Nations and/or countries identified by
the U.S. government as state sponsors of terrorism and foreign
investment holdings limitations, among others.
Micro-Capitalization Company Risk Information
Investments in securities of micro-capitalization companies
involve substantially greater risks of loss and price fluctuations
because their earnings and revenues tend to be less predictable
(and some companies may be experiencing significant losses), and
their share prices tend to be more volatile and their markets less
liquid than companies with larger market capitalizations.
Non-Diversified Fund & Industry Risk Information
The Fund is considered non-diversified and can invest a greater
portion of assets in securities of individual issuers than a
diversified fund. As a result, changes in the market value of a
single investment could cause greater fluctuations in share price
than would occur in a diversified fund. The economies of frontier
country markets are less developed and can be overly reliant on
particular industries. It is likely that a substantial number of
stocks included in the Underlying Index for certain of the MENA
frontier countries will be securities of banks and other financial
institutions. When a Fund is focused in a specific industry or
sector, it presents greater risks than if it were broadly
diversified over numerous industries and sectors of the economy.
Please read the prospectus for a summary of these risks pertaining
to each industry or sector.
Tax Consequences of Redemption Proceeds Being Limited Primarily
to Cash Risk Information
Unlike most exchange-traded funds, the Fund does not and
currently intends to make primarily in-kind redemptions. As such
the Fund may be required to sell portfolio securities in order to
obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds.
Generally, this will cause the Fund to recognize gain it might not
otherwise have recognized, or to recognize such gain sooner than
would otherwise be required, if it were able to distribute the
shares primarily in-kind. Based on the U.S. federal income tax
rules applicable to the fund and an investment in the Fund, this
may cause particular shareholders to be subject to tax on gains
they would not otherwise be subject to, or at an earlier date than,
if they had made an investment in a different exchange-traded
fund.
Participation Notes ("P-notes") and their Risks
The Fund initially expects to invest up to 20% of its net assets
in P-notes in seeking to track the performance of Kuwaiti
securities included in the Underlying Index.
P-notes generally are issued by banks or broker-dealers and are
promissory notes that are designed to offer a return linked to the
performance of a particular underlying equity security or market.
The return on a P-note that is linked to a particular underlying
security generally is increased to the extent of any dividends paid
in connection with the underlying security. However, the holder of
a P-note typically does not receive voting rights as it would if it
directly owned the underlying security. P-notes constitute direct,
general and unsecured contractual obligations of the banks or
broker-dealers that issue them, which therefore subjects the Fund
to counterparty risk, as discussed below.
Investments in P-notes involve certain risks in addition to
those associated with a direct investment in the underlying foreign
companies or foreign securities markets whose return they seek to
replicate. For instance, there can be no assurance that there will
be a trading market for a P-note or that the trading price of a
P-note will equal the underlying value of the foreign company or
foreign securities market that it seeks to replicate. As the
purchaser of a P-note, the Fund is relying on the creditworthiness
of the counterparty issuing the P-note and has no rights under a
P-note against the issuer of the underlying security. Therefore, if
such counterparty were to become insolvent, the Fund would lose its
investment. The risk that the Fund may lose its investments due to
the insolvency of a counterparty may be amplified because the Fund
intends to purchase P-notes issued by as few as one issuer. In
seeking to limit its counterparty risk, the Fund will limit its
investment in P-notes of any one issuer to $5 million at the time
of purchase and to counterparties who meet the creditworthiness
standard required of issuers whose securities are eligible for
investment by money market funds. P-notes also include transaction
costs in addition to those applicable to a direct investment in
Kuwaiti securities. In addition, the Fund's use of P-notes may
cause the Fund's performance to deviate from the performance of the
portion of the Underlying Index to which the Fund is gaining
exposure through the use of P-notes.
Due to liquidity and transfer restrictions, the secondary
markets on which the P-notes are traded may be less liquid than the
markets for other securities, or may be completely illiquid, which
may lead to the absence of readily available market quotations for
securities in the Fund's portfolio and which may also lead to
delays in the redemption of Fund Shares. In addition, the ability
of the Fund to value its securities becomes more difficult and the
judgment in the application of fair value procedures (through fair
value procedures adopted by the Trustees) may play a greater role
in the valuation of the Fund's securities due to reduced
availability of reliable objective pricing data. Consequently,
while such determinations will be made in good faith, it may
nevertheless be more difficult for the Fund to accurately assign a
daily value to such securities.
NASDAQ�, OMX? and NASDAQ OMX Middle East North Africa Index(SM)
are trade/service marks of The NASDAZ OMX Group, Inc. (which with
its affiliates is referred to as the "Corporations") and are
licensed for use by Invesco PowerShares. The Fund has not been
passed on by the Corporations as to their legality or suitability.
The Fund is not issued, endorsed, sold or promoted by the
Corporations. THE CORPORATIONS MAKE NO WARRANTIES AND BEAR NO
LIABILITY WITH RESPECT TO THE FUND.
Shares are not FDIC insured, may lose value and have no bank
guarantee.
Shares are not individually redeemable and owners of the shares
may acquire those shares from the Fund and tender those shares for
redemption to the Fund in Creation Unit aggregations only,
typically consisting of 100,000 shares.
Invesco Aim Distributors, Inc. is the distributor of the
PowerShares Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II.
Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC and Invesco Aim
Distributors, Inc. are indirect, wholly owned subsidiaries of
Invesco Ltd.
An investor should consider the Fund's investment objective,
risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. For a copy
of the prospectus, which contains this and other information about
the Fund, call 800.983.0903. Please read the prospectus carefully
before investing.
Media Contacts: Kristin Sadlon Porter Novelli 212-601-8192 Email
Contact Bill Conboy BC Capital Partners 303-415-2290 Email
Contact
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