“There continues to be broad support for FTSE Russell’s decision to include South Korea in the FTSE WGBI, with full inclusion on track to be completed by November next year,” said Nikki Stefanelli, global head of fixed income, currencies and commodities index policy at FTSE Russell.
South Korean bonds will be phased in over a shorter-than-usual eight-month period, beginning in April 2026.
“The refinement to the implementation approach in the FTSE WGBI further ensures a smooth index inclusion, based on demonstrated close collaboration amongst the global investment community,” Stefanelli said.
On the equities side, FTSE Russell announced that Greece will stay on its watch list for reclassification to developed market status. It’s currently classified advanced emerging.
“The market meets the 22 FTSE quality of markets criteria required for attaining developed market status and has the gross national income per capita rating of high,” according to a media release. FTSE Russell’s speculative rating for Greece is under review after DBRS Morningstar boosted the country’s credit rating from BBB low to BBB on March 7.
Vietnamese equities will stay on the watch list for reclassification from frontier to secondary emerging market status.
“[T]he market has yet to meet the settlement requirements stipulated in the FTSE equity country classification framework,” said the release.
The country classification reviews are conducted twice a year.
This article has been updated to correct a previous version.