FTSE Russell said on Tuesday that it would go ahead with its plans to include Chinese sovereign debt in a flagship government bond index beginning in October, marking the latest milestone in the opening up of China’s $16 trillion bond market to foreign capital, reported the South China Morning Post.
The index provider, owned by the London Stock Exchange Group, said it would add Chinese sovereign debt to its World Government Bond Index over three years. China’s weight in the index will be around 5.25%, the sixth largest following the US, Japan, France, Italy and Germany.
“The decision to add the second-largest bond market in the world to our flagship global government bond index reflects our robust index governance process and regular engagement with global investors, regulators and other key market participants,” Waqas Samad, FTSE Russell’s CEO, said in a press release.