MSCI to boost #Kuwait equities with 2020 emerging markets upgrade - Reuters

MSCI to boost Kuwait equities with 2020 emerging markets upgrade - Reuters:

MSCI Inc, the world’s largest index provider, said it will reclassify the MSCI Kuwait Indexes from frontier to emerging markets as the Kuwaiti equity market had met all the necessary requirements, a move expected to generate billions of dollars of inflows.

The index compiler will include the MSCI Kuwait index in the Emerging Market Index in one phase during the May 2020 semi-annual index review, it said in a statement late on Wednesday.

Sebastien Lieblich, Global Head of Index Solutions and Chairman of the MSCI equity index committee, said: “Kuwait’s addition adds further diversification to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index with an estimated weight of 0.69%.”

The upgrade follows Kuwait’s implementation of regulatory and operational enhancements in the Kuwaiti equity market, such as introducing omnibus accounts that would allow foreign investors to trade while remaining anonymous, offering the same privileges that local investors now have.