Under the MOU, Standard & Poor's and RTS undertake to work together to develop, calculate, license and promote Russian equity indices worldwide. All of the joint index products, including the existing headline RTS Index, the main indicator of the Russian stock market, will be promoted under the umbrella trade name S&P/RTS.
RTS and Standard & Poor's will revamp the indices by applying to them internationally recognized Standard & Poor's indexing principals, and will create a number of additional benchmark and tradable indices in the coming months. The full suite of S&P/RTS indices will comply with S&P methodology, including GICS® (Global Industry Classification Standard), free float adjustment and liquidity screening.
Launch of the new RTS/S&P indices is expected in the first half of 2005. The initiative is expected to enhance the appeal of Russian indices as portfolio benchmarks and further pave the way for development of index-linked vehicles and listed index derivatives.
"RTS is the natural exchange choice for Standard & Poor's," said Robert Shakotko, global managing director of Standards & Poor's Index Services. "Our internationally adopted index standards will enhance local liquidity in an environment where competition is high between Russian exchanges and foreign markets for turnover in Russian equities. This new family of indices will represent a means for both domestic and international investors to enter the market now and in the future."
Says RTS President Oleg Saphonov: "Long-term cooperation with S&P will further strengthen the positions of the RTS Index world-wide, help increase investment into Russian securities, attract additional liquidity to the market and increase trading volumes on domestic exchanges".
