Emerging markets attract $17bln of inflows in first three weeks of 2021 Business January 23, 2021 London: Investors have piled billions of dollars into emerging market assets at the start of 2021 after a banner end to last year, showing how the flood of central bank stimulus continues to drive a frantic hunt for returns. A group of 30 major developing countries has attracted $17bn in inflows in the first three weeks of January alone, according to a Financial Times analysis of daily data from the Institute of International Finance. The strong start to 2021, with inflows largely aimed at equities, comes after a dramatic shift last year. After a record exodus of almost $90bn in March at the onset of the pandemic, investors returned to EM stock and bond markets in a rising flood, with almost $180bn in the fourth quarter bringing total inflows in the final nine months of 2020 to more than $360bn, according to a broader IIF dataset that tracks 63 emerging economies.