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FTSE Russell is to add Shanghai's Sci-Tech Innovation Board to its global benchmarks when "the time is ripe," a senior executive said, as China's A-share market has been achieving growing influence and global attention amid the recent rally.
"It is only a matter of time before FTSE Russell includes the Sci-Tech Innovation Board into its global indexes," Du Wanming, director of index policy Asia-Pacific with FTSE Russell, said in an interview with China Securities Journal on Wednesday.
Du said that FTSE has not yet included stocks on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board into its indexes because those stocks have not been incorporated into the stock link programs between Hong Kong and the mainland.
FTSE Russell has been planning to further include A shares in its global equity benchmarks.
The company said that it will it take a step further in September following good feedback from the first phase of inclusion of China's A-Shares into its global equity indexes, which was completed in June.
Following the completion of phase one inclusion, China A-Shares now represent approximately 6 percent of the FTSE Emerging Index, which is tracked by approximately $140 billion in investor assets. 1,051 large, medium and small-cap China A-Shares are now included in the FTSE Emerging All Cap Index, according to the company.
The inclusion reflects China's efforts in the continuous deepening of market reforms and the influence of the Chinese stock market on the global market, Li Daxiao, chief economist at Shenzhen-based Yingda Securities, told the Global Times on Monday.
"The inclusion of the Sci-Tech Innovation Board into the FTSE Russell indexes will make the company more inclusive as a global index provider. For the enterprises listed on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board it will open up the possibility of more foreign capital inflow," Li noted.
The flagship Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.77 percent to 3,443.29 points, while the Shenzhen Component Index rose 3.50 percent to 14,149.14 points on Monday, with Chinese stocks having experienced a bull run in the past week.
The recent gains have pushed the total A share stock value back to the $10 trillion milestone, hitting a 5-year high.
"With a market value of $10 trillion and 160 million participants, China's stock market can't be ignored," Li said. "It can be said that the big bull is rising in the east."