Announcement for March 29, 2019 at 08:15 PM GMT
THIS IS AN ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE MSCI GLOBAL STANDARD INDEXES
CONCLUSIONS FROM THE CONSULTATION ON SPECIFIC TOPICS RELATED TO INVESTMENT
LIMITS
(Re: Announcement sent on January 23, 2019)
MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of research-based indexes and
analytics, announced today the conclusions from its recent consultation on
specific topics related to the treatment of investment limits in the MSCI Global
Investable Market Indexes. Following feedback from the investment community MSCI
will implement the proposals to:
- Enhance treatment of Thailand securities, particularly related to Foreign
Ownership Limits (FOLs) and rules for selecting Local or Foreign Lines;
- No longer maintain securities with low Foreign Room even if liquid Depositary
Receipts (DRs) are available.
At the same time, MSCI will defer:
- Its implementation of methodology changes related to the Individual Ownership
Limits (IOLs)
- Its decision on the proposal to no longer consider Depositary Receipts (DRs)
in calculating the Foreign Ownership Limit (FOL) for Indian securities
IMPLEMENT ENHANCEMENTS TO THE TREATMENT FOR THAILAND SECURITIES
Following feedback from market participants, MSCI will implement the proposed
enhancements to the MSCI Thailand Indexes. More specifically, for companies
whose Non-Voting Depositary Receipts (NVDRs) are not subject to the NVDR
issuance limits MSCI will:
- No longer apply Foreign Ownership Limit (FOL);
- Always represent such companies with a Local Line.
At the same time, for companies whose NVDRs are subject to the NVDR issuance
limits (currently only financial institutions) MSCI will:
- Apply FOL equal to the NVDR issuance limits to Local Lines of such companies;
- Monitor and apply an adjustment factor to reflect low Foreign Room for Local
Lines as required, consistent with other markets subject to FOLs;
- Include Foreign Lines, while reflecting its issuance limit, in addition to
Local Lines only if they meet the inclusion requirements applicable to Emerging
Markets, including liquidity requirements.
MSCI will implement the above changes as part of the May 2019 Semi-Annual Index
Review. For the purpose of corporate events maintenance, these changes to the
methodology will apply immediately.
The updated simulated impact of this change is available at:
https://www.msci.com/index-consultations
NOT MAINTAIN SECURITIES WITH LOW FOREIGN ROOM IN THE MSCI INDEXES
As proposed in the consultation, MSCI will no longer retain securities with low
Foreign Room in the MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes whether or not
corresponding liquid DRs are available. This methodology change will be
implemented at the May 2019 SAIR.
Currently, two constituents of the MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes,
Ryanair Holdings (IE) and KT Corp (KR), would be impacted by this change.
Neither of these securities are accessible for purchase by international
institutional investors, while the respective DRs have been trading at a
substantial premium compared to the prices of the local lines. These securities
would be deleted from the MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes as part of the
May 2019 SAIR, provided that Foreign Room continues to be below the necessary
threshold.
As a reminder, MSCI defines Foreign Room as the proportion of shares still
available to foreign investors relative to the maximum allowed.
DEFER IMPLEMENTATION OF INDIVIDUAL OWNERSHIP LIMITS INCLUSION THRESHOLDS
MSCI will defer implementation of any changes to the existing treatment of
Individual Ownership Limits (IOLs) in the MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes
until further notice.
While market participants have generally expressed support for the proposed
treatment, certain alternative approaches highlighted during the consultation
warrant additional analysis. For example, some participants mentioned that
incorporating aggregate managed asset ownership may provide a better measure for
assessing investability issues associated with IOLs.
On completion of the additional analysis, including assessment of appropriate
data sources, MSCI may issue a revised consultation proposal.
In the interim, MSCI will continue to assess specific securities with IOLs for
inclusion in the MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes on a case-by-case basis.
Based on the feedback received during the consultation, companies such as Qatar
Fuel Co, Mesaieed Petrochemical and Saudi Basic Industries may be considered as
eligible for inclusion in the MSCI Investable Equity Universe on the basis of
their IOL level. Their eligibility for inclusion in the MSCI Global Investable
Market Indexes would be subject to meeting all other requirements as part of the
May 2019 Semi-Annual Index Review (SAIR).
DEFER CHANGES FOR THE FOL TREATMENT FOR INDIAN SECURITIES WITH DEPOSITORY
RECEIPTS
MSCI will defer its decision on the proposal to no longer consider Depositary
Receipts (DRs) in calculating the Foreign Ownership Limit (FOL) for Indian
securities and make it equal to the Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) limit.
Based on the feedback received from the investment community, as well as the
current state of accessibility of DRs, it would be appropriate to not consider
them in the FOL calculations. However, certain enhancements may be implemented
in the near term in India to facilitate accessibility of DRs, particularly their
fungibility. To avoid potential reverse turnover, following any such
enhancements or other initiatives to increase investable market capitalization
of Indian equity market for international institutional investors, MSCI will
temporarily maintain the current treatment and not reduce the weight of the
impacted index constituents.
MSCI will closely monitor the developments related to accessibility of DRs, as
well as other enhancements related to FOL in India and will re-assess the
situation prior to the November 2019 SAIR. In absence of any material changes in
this respect, MSCI would proceed with the earlier proposed changes and
communicate its decision on or before September 30, 2019.
The updated MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes Methodology book to account
for the enhancements noted above will be made available on or before April 15,
2019.
For further information on MSCI indexes or MSCI data, please visit our web site
at www.msci.com, or contact:
MSCI Global Client Service:
Americas Client Service: 1.888.588.4567 (toll free)/+ 1.212.804.3901
EMEA Client Service: + 44.20.7618.2222
Asia Pacific Client Service: + 852.2844.9333
THIS IS AN ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE MSCI GLOBAL STANDARD INDEXES
End of announcement.
Further announcements may occur as needed.
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