China Voice: MSCI's inclusion of China's A-shares only a matter of time

Global equity indexes provider MSCI Inc. will not include China A-shares in its flagship global benchmarks index for now, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

But they will work with China's securities regulator to overcome remaining obstacles.

Though China didn't get a yes this time, one message is clear: inclusion is an inevitability in the near future as the country's capital market continues to open up.

The MSCI said the company and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) will form a working group to resolve three major issues -- the quota allocation process, capital mobility restrictions and beneficial ownership.

The decision from the New York-based index provider met market expectations, as global clients are cautious about including new stock markets and the Chinese A share market's accessibility still needs improvement. But China's determination to promote capital market liberalization is unquestionable.

Although access to onshore equity and bond markets is still controlled by a quota system, the gatekeepers have been steadily opening the doors to the capital markets.

Substantial progress has been made toward opening the Chinese mainland's equity market to institutional investors, MSCI said in the statement.

Last November's launch of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect expanded foreign fund access to China without the restriction of a longstanding quota and license system. The Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect, a similar initiative to improve market accessibility, is also in the pipeline.

Meanwhile, Chinese authorities have established new investment quotas over the past year, giving more investors improved access through traditional channels.

China's capital market development has gained recognition from international financial organizations.

Vanguard Group Inc., the largest U.S. mutual fund firm, decided early this month to add mainland Chinese shares to its 69 billion U.S dollar emerging-market fund.

The inclusion into the MSCI, which tracks 1.7 trillion U.S. dollars in funds, will bring an estimated inflow of 20 billion U.S. dollars from global funds, meeting the MSCI target of a one percent weight in the emerging market index.

It will offer investors more diversity, deeper emerging market exposure and greater access to the growth potential of Chinese equities, further pushing the Chinese A-shares market to open up.

MSCI said the inclusion would be announced as soon as remaining issues are solved. It is only a matter of time for China's A-shares to get into the international benchmarks given the pace of market liberalization.

The determination is there, and China A shares are on track to more market liberalization. It will just take time and joint effort to see success. Endi