KUW8 Benefits as MSCI Upgrades Kuwait to Emerging Markets
- Only Pure-Play Kuwait ETF in the world, KUW8, grows 2,488%
since April launch
-
Kuwaiti economy benefiting from index reclassifications, economic
diversification programme & capital markets improvements
London, 26 June, 2019 - HANetf, Europe’s first
independent ‘white label’ UCITS ETF issuer has announced spiking asset growth in
KUW8 around the MSCI upgrade[i] of
Kuwait to Emerging Market status.
The decision by MSCI follows on
the heels of similar reclassifications by index leaders FTSE Russell and
S&P, that upgraded Kuwait in 2018. Kuwait will be added to the MSCI
Emerging Index in the May 2020 rebalance with an initial weight of ~0.5%,
representing ~$2.8 billion of market capitalisation[ii]
The change in classification
reflects improvements in Kuwaiti capital markets infrastructure, operations and
foreign investor accessibility which have been implemented by the Kuwaiti Stock
Exchange and local regulators. Kuwait is currently in the middle of an
extensive long-term economic diversification programme, “Vision 2035”, designed
to encourage foreign investment and reduce dependency on oil revenues.
As investor
interest in Kuwait intensifies, the KMEFIC FTSE Kuwait Equity UCITS ETF (KUW8) has surged, growing 2,488%
since inception on April 15th.
The ETF was launched on London
Stock Exchange, Borsa Italiana and XETRA via the HANetf white-label platform in
April 2019 with Kuwait & Middle East Financial Investment Company as
sponsor.
To provide investors with unique
local insight into the expected impact of the upgrade, HANetf and KMEFIC are
hosting a webinar on 4th July at 11 BST.
Jason Griffin, Director of Capital Markets
& Business Development at HANetf, said: “The decision by MSCI to
reclassify Kuwait to Emerging Market status will catalyse significant trading
activity as index managers rebalance Emerging and Frontier portfolios and
active managers seek alpha-generation opportunities. Accessing Kuwaiti
securities directly is not always straight forwards and investors can take
advantage of the KMEFIC FTSE Kuwait Equity UCITS ETF (KUW8) to obtain a diverse
and transparent basket of Kuwaiti securities in a UCITS structure, supported by
an extensive liquidity ecosystem. The rapid growth of assets in KUW8 highlights
the ability of the ETF structure to absorb significant assets and the
importance of looking beyond screen volumes and understand the implied
liquidity of an ETF.”
Tracking the
FTSE Kuwait All-Cap 15% Capped Index, the KMEFIC FTSE Kuwait Equity UCITS ETF
(KUW8) enables investors to gain exposure to a basket of Kuwaiti companies with
a combined market capitalisation of ~$US25.9 billion.
| EXCHANGE |
BB CODE |
RIC |
ISIN |
SEDOL |
CCY |
INCOME |
| London Stock Exchange |
KUW8 |
KUW8.L |
IE00BGPBVS44 |
BGY9KV5 |
USD |
Acc |
| London Stock Exchange |
KUWP |
KUWP.L |
IE00BGPBVS44 |
BGSXQZ9 |
GBP |
Acc |
| Borsa Italiana |
KUW8 |
KUW8.MI |
IE00BGPBVS44 |
BGSGKH8 |
EUR |
Acc |
| XETRA |
KUW8 |
KUW8.GY |
DE000A2PO3R9 |
BJ9ZLG1 |
EUR |
Acc |
Find out more about KMEFIC FTSE Kuwait Equity UCITS ETF (KUW8).
Read our KUW8 Whitepaper "Funds & Falcons: Opportunities in an Emerging Kuwait" here.