Investment research firm and stock markets index provider, Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI), has announced that the MSCI Pakistan Index will be eligible to be listed on the Frontier Markets (FM) 100 Index in May.
In a press release, the firm stated, “Following feedback received from market participants, Pakistan will become eligible for inclusion in the MSCI Frontier Markets 100 and the MSCI Frontier Markets 15% Country Capped Indexes as part of the May 2022 Semi-Annual Index Review (SAIR).”
MSCI made the statement following the completion of its assessment of the MSCI Pakistan Index’s suitability for the MSCI FM 100 and MSCI FM 15 percent Country Capped Indexes as part of the May 2022 Semi-Annual Index Review (SAIR).
Pakistan was dropped from emerging market (EM) status in September 2021, just over four years after MSCI reclassified it from the FM Index since it no longer matched the required size and liquidity benchmarks. The downgrade came despite the local bourse fulfilling conditions for Market Accessibility under the EM framework.
In terms of equity factors supporting Pakistan’s contingent upgrade, market players forecast Lucky Cement (LUCK), HUBCO (HUBC), Engro (ENGRO), Habib Bank Limited (HBL), United Bank Limited (UBL), Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB), Fauji Fertilizer Company (FFC), System Limited (SYS), Mari Petroleum (MARI), Engro Fertilizers Limited (EFERT), and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) to be added to the MSCI FM 100 Index.
At the moment, the existing constituents of Pakistan’s equity market in the MSCI FM Index include Lucky Cement (LUCK), Habib Bank (HBL), and MCB Bank (MCB).
