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Leading index provider, FTSE Group (“FTSE”), will announce the results of its annual country classification review before European markets open on Thursday 20th September. The review will examine progress made by a series of international markets and will decide whether to make any changes to the status of countries on FTSE’s Watch List. Countries currently on FTSE’s Watch List for possible promotion or demotion include China (A shares), Greece, Hungary, Israel, Pakistan, Poland, South Korea and Taiwan.
FTSE’s Policy Group, which oversees the market classification review, will make the final decision on any promotions or demotions between categories. The Policy Group will base its decisions on information provided to FTSE from its ongoing liaison with stock exchanges since the last review in September 2006 and recommendations from FTSE’s country classification committee which analyses these matters in detail. The Policy Group will look for compliance from each market on a series of criteria which covers management of Regulatory Environment, Custody and Settlement arrangements, and the efficiency of the Dealing Landscape and Derivatives market.
International investors assign equity markets to Developed or Emerging status for the purpose of risk management and asset allocation, so the need for these designations to remain up-to-date is imperative. FTSE is the only index provider with a transparent, regular and consistent review of market designation, and as such is widely regarded by investors, traders and exchanges as the leading indicator of market status.
Full details of the country classification process, and the current status of all 48 international markets currently included in the flagship FTSE Global Equity Index Series (GEIS) can be found at www.ftse.com/country .
