New | Volatility won’t impact China A-shares decision-MSCI

US index provider MSCI said recent violent market gyrations in China, and a barrage of interventions by the authorities to stop the rout, will not be a factor in deciding whether to include China-listed shares in its emerging markets index.

Chinese stock markets have plunged around 40 per cent since mid-June on concerns over a slowing economy. The slump has been accompanied by a raft of actions by policymakers and regulators that included rate cuts, a surprise devaluation of the yuan and attempts to rein in short selling and margin lending.

In June, just before the sell-off began, MSCI announced it would hold off adding China-listed ’A shares’ to its closely-tracked MSCI Emerging Markets Index, but said it expected those shares to be incorporated once outstanding issues relating to the accessibility of Chinese markets were resolved.

That remains the case, Sebastien Lieblich, executive director of MSCI Index Management Research, told Reuters in an interview.

"The volatility we have witnessed in the market and the recent events have absolutely no bearing on our decision," Lieblich said.

"The (Chinese) market is just going through a correction, structurally speaking nothing has changed."