Bloomberg Index To Include India FAR Bonds From January 31, 2025

Bloomberg Index Services Limited (BISL) announced on March 5 the inclusion of the India Fully Accessible Route Bonds in the Bloomberg Emerging Market local currency government Index and related indices. These bonds will be included with an initial weight of 10 per cent of their full market value on January 31, 2025.

The weightage of these bonds will be increased by 10 per cent of their full market value every month over the ten months ending in October 2025. On January 8, 2024, BISL opened a window for consultation on the proposed inclusion of India FAR bonds in the Bloomberg Emerging Markets (EM) Local Currency Index. The consultation was sought by Bloomberg to receive feedback on the proposal by January 25, 2024.

According to the feedback, BISL has decided to include India FAR Bond in the Bloomberg EM Local Currency Government Index and all related indices. One of the indices included in this inclusion is the “Bloomberg EM Local Currency Government Index”. Other incides included are the “Bloomberg EM Local Currency Government Index 10% Country Capped Index”, and all related sub-indices.

Nick Gendron, the global head of fixed-income index products at Bloomberg Index Services Limited (BISL), highlighted the significance of this move in a statement. Nick said, “The Indian economy is on a steady growth trajectory, and the inclusion of Indian FAR Bonds in our Emerging Market Local Currency Government Index marks a key milestone amidst the measures India has taken to open its bond markets. Bloomberg Indices is committed to serving the global investment community, and this development will increase access to and participation in Indian markets.”

India is poised to join China and South Korea if it completes integration into the Bloomberg Emerging Market per cent Country Capped Index. In the market-cap-weighted version of the index, India can be ranked as the third-largest country after China and South Korea. As of now, the index would utilise data as of January 31, 2024, and would encompass 34 Indian securities and represent 7.26 per cent of a $6.18 trillion index on a market value-weighted basis. For those who don’t know, Bloomberg LP is the parent company of Bloomberg Index Services Limited.