MSCI adds 3 Pakistani cos to Frontier Market Index, 4 to FM Small Cap Index
Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Inc., a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services, announced the addition of three Pakistani companies as constituents on its Frontier Market (FM) and four companies in its FM Small Cap Index as part of its May 2025 index review.
Meanwhile, three Pakistani companies have been removed from its FM Small Cap Index.
In the MSCI Frontier Markets Indexes, three Pakistani companies have been added, stated MSCI in the note.
These companies include Fauji Cement Co, DG Khan Cement Co and Maple Leaf Cement. These changes are to take effect from the close of May 30, 2025.
'This takes the total number of constituents in the MSCI Frontier Index to 26 from 23 earlier,' said Topline Securities in its note on the review.
'We estimate Pakistan's weight in the MSCI Frontier Market Index is close to 6-6.5%,' it added.
MSCI adds 8 Pakistani companies to Small Cap, removes TRG Pakistan from Frontier Markets Indexes
Topline said that the addition of three cement companies constitutes a weight of 26 basis points (bps). 'Assuming $2-3 billion funds tracking frontier market index globally, the inflows in these companies are estimated around $5-8 million,' it said.
The brokerage house noted that the minimum threshold of free float and total market cap for the selection of frontier market stocks was $78 million and $155 million, respectively.
Topline also highlighted that Interloop, Searle Limited and Abbott Laboratories are retained in the index despite not meeting the free float threshold of $78 million based on the buffer rule.
Meanwhile, four Pakistani securities were added to MSCI Frontier Markets Small Cap Indexes, including Archroma Pakistan, At-Tahur, Engro Polymer & Chemicals and Pakistan Reinsurance.
While one stock is moved to the main index, i.e. DG Khan Cement Co, and two are deleted, namely AGP Pharma and Agritech Limited.
In September 2021, Pakistan was downgraded from its status as an emerging market, a little over four years after it was reclassified from the Frontier Markets (FM) Index by MSCI.
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