FTSE Russell has released on September 26, 2018 its latest Annual Country Classification Review, according to which Romania was maintained on the watch list of countries for possible reclassification from Frontier to Secondary Emerging market.
According to the FTSE Russell report, the FTSE Russell Country Classification Advisory Committee endorsed the following criterion rating changes:
• Liquidity – Sufficient broad market liquidity to support sizeable global investment: upgraded from ‘Not Met’ to ‘Restricted’, following an improvement in broad market liquidity.
• Off-exchange transactions permitted: upgraded from ‘Not Met’ to ‘Restricted’.
According to FTSE Russell, the “Liquidity – Sufficient broad market liquidity to support sizeable global investment” criterion is the single outstanding criterion required for attaining Secondary Emerging market status. This rating has moved up one increment at this review and will next be considered at the March 2019 interim review. FTSE Russell acknowledges the efforts of the Bucharest Stock Exchange to bring IPOs to the market and to improve liquidity levels on the exchange.
Romania was added to the Watch List in September 2016 for possible reclassification to Secondary Emerging market status.
Impact on investors: Romania remains on the Watch List as a Frontier market with the possible reclassification from Frontier to Secondary Emerging in 2019.