MSCI Inc. is awarding emerging market status to the MSCI Kuwait Indexes as the country’s equity market now meets the required criteria for reclassification.
The reclassification will be part of the MSCI’s May 2020 semi-annual review.
In late October, the Kuwait Capital Market Authority resolved to amend certain provisions of the executive bylaws and rules related to the implementation of omnibus accounts and same National Investor Number cross trades. This fulfilled the requirements for reclassification MSCI had outlined in June when it announced the reclassification subject to these changes being made by November 2019.
MSCI also confirmed with international institutional investors that same NIN trades had been made available to them.
“We welcome the latest market accessibility enhancements introduced by the Kuwaiti authorities that now allow international institutional investor to benefit from omnibus account structures and same NIN cross trade capabilities,” said Sebastien Lieblich, global head of index solutions and chairman of the MSCI equity index committee, in a press release. “Kuwait’s addition adds further diversification to the MSCI emerging markets index with an estimated weight of 0.69 per cent.”