RIYADH: The global index provider FTSE Russell said it will add Saudi Arabian local currency government sukuk to the FTSE Emerging Markets Government Bond Index (EMGBI) after its market accessibility level was upgraded.
Riyal-denominated sukuk will join the EMGBI from April 2022 and will comprise 2.75 percent of the index on a market value weighted basis, FTSE Russell said in a statement.
This step will contribute to expanding the base of investors in the financial market and improving its levels of liquidity, the Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA) said in a separate statement.
Equities listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) completed their inclusion into the MSCI Emerging Markets Index in August 2019 with a weight of 2.8 percent after initially being upgraded in 2018, attracting billions of dollars into the Kingdom's stocks.
In June 2020, FTSE Russell uploaded the final tranche of Saudi equities into global stocks indexes, giving it a weighting of 3.1 percent in the FTSE Emerging Index and 0.35 percent weight in the FTSE All-World Index.
Saudi stocks joined the S&P Dow Jones Emerging Market Indices' (DJI) Global Benchmark Indices (BMI) in September 2019.
