Culled—Proshare

September 29, 2016/CardinalStone Research

MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of research-based indexes and analytics, announced its decision to formally add the Nigeria MSCI index to the review list for a potential reclassification to Standalone status during its 2017 Annual Market Classification Review in June 2017.

In the interim, MSCI Inc. opted to retain the Nigerian indexes as part of the frontier market.

The MSCI however emphasised that it will continue to apply the special treatment announced on April 29,2016 until further notice. The major implication of the special treatment is that the MSCI will not implement selected changes for any securities classified in the Nigerian indexes.

The index provider noted the positive efforts by the Nigerian authorities to enhance FX liquidity and also understands that more time might be needed for the authorities to significantly improve liquidity in the foreign exchange market.

Nevertheless, it warned that any introduction of restrictive measures on capital or foreign exchange which can lead to material deterioration of equity market accessibility may result in the re-classification of the Nigerian indexes to standalone status.