Photo:VCG

Global index provider MSCI has quadrupled the weighing of Chinese mainland shares in its global benchmarks, increasing the inclusion factor of Chinese large-cap stocks to 20 percent now from 5 percent at the beginning of the year. 

The MSCI move, coupled with the Chinese regulator's removal of quota caps via the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) channel, is expected to bring US$80 to 100 billion overseas investment to China's A-share market, Chinese market watchers say. 

In an announcement on Friday, MSCI also unveiled its  decision to add more than 180 mid-cap A-shares to its emerging market benchmark, boosting the total number of constituents from the world's second-largest economy to 572 listed companies from Chinese the mainland. MSCI said its decision will take effect on September 26. 

The Chinese stocks chosen by MSCI include major players from the financial sector, property development, retail, computers, electronics, and medicine. 

Rival index publishers FTSE Russell and S&P Dow Jones Indices also started adding yuan-denominated Chinese mainland shares to their global benchmarks this year, as Chinese authorities have stepped up effort to integrate its capital markets closer into the global financial system, and make its economy more intertwined with the international economy despite the US government's trade war against China.