MSCI to add China's A-share stocks to key benchmark

US Index provider MSCI said Tuesday morning that it would add China's A-share stocks to one of its key benchmarks, which marks the largest equity market among emerging markets by market cap and trading volume more accessible to global investors.

"This decision has broad support from international institutional investors with whom MSCI consulted, primarily as a result of the positive impact on the accessibility of the China A market," MSCI said in a statement.

MSCI plans to add 222 China A-share listed large cap stocks, representing on a pro forma basis about 0.7 percent of the weight of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index at a 5 percent partial Inclusion Factor, the company says.

MSCI will also launch the MSCI China A International Large Cap Provisional Index on June 21, 2017, followed by additional global and regional provisional indexes, including the MSCI China and MSCI Emerging Markets Provisional Indexes, in August 2017.

"International investors have embraced the positive changes in the accessibility of the China A shares market over the last few years and now all conditions are set for MSCI to proceed with the first step of the inclusion," said Remy Briand, MSCI Managing Director and Chairman of the MSCI Index Policy Committee.

"The expansion of Stock Connect has been a game changer for the market opening of China A shares," he added.

Widely tracked MSCI's full inclusion of A share could pull significant amount of funds to China's equity market over the next decade, said analysts, and brings about more competition and opportunities.

Global investors are expected to monitor the China markets more closely from now on, said Raymond Ma, Portfolio Manager, Fidelity International.

"The long-awaited inclusion of A shares into the MSCI Emerging Markets Index is not a big surprise to market participants. I am positive on such move as it will offer much more investment flexibility in the A-share investment universe. More importantly, the A share inclusion is very symbolic as it marked a significant enhancement of accessibility of the A-share markets for foreign investors…I will continue to focus on A-share companies with strong growth prospects and cash flow generating capability," said Ma.