MSCI adds seven SL stocks, expands frontier market coverage

Wednesday, 27 August 2025 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The MSCI Sri Lanka Index expands from five companies to 12 in latest quarterly review
SL sees highest number of additions with Vietnam among 13 country indexes
New additions: GUAR, DIMO, JAT, KHL, RIL, PARQ, and VFIN
New additions join JKH, COMB, SAMP, HNB and HAYL on MSCI Sri Lanka Index
MSCI Index returns 71.92% YoY as of end-July 2025, compared to MSCI Frontier Markets’ 29.93%

MSCI yesterday added seven Sri Lankan-listed companies to its Frontier Markets Small Cap Indexes, increasing the country exposure to 12 as of the market close on 26 August, the index provider said.

The additions are Ceylon Guardian Investment Trust (GUAR.CSE), Diesel and Motor Engineering (DIMO.CSE), JAT Holdings (JAT.CSE), John Keells Hotels (KHL.CSE), RIL Property (RIL.CSE), Swisstek Ceylon (PARQ.CSE), and Vallibel Finance (VFIN.CSE).

No Sri Lankan companies were removed from the index in this review.

Sri Lanka and Vietnam recorded the highest number of additions in MSCI’s latest quarterly review of its Frontier Markets Small Cap Indexes.

By comparison, Pakistan saw two additions and two deletions, while Romania had one addition and three deletions. Other markets, including Bahrain, Tunisia, Oman, Mauritius, Burkina Faso, Croatia, and Jordan, reported between one and two inclusions each. Vietnam saw nine additions and two deletions.

The changes are part of MSCI’s quarterly review of its Frontier Markets Small Cap Indexes, which guide global investors tracking emerging and frontier equities, and come at a time when Sri Lanka is seeking to attract more foreign portfolio investment following its debt restructuring program. MSCI is Morgan Stanley Capital International, a New York–based financial services company best known for creating and maintaining global stock market indexes.

The MSCI Sri Lanka Index is designed to measure the performance of the large and mid-cap segments of the Sri Lankan market.

Prior to the inclusion, the MSCI Sri Lanka Index comprised John Keells Holdings (JKH.CSE), Commercial Bank of Ceylon (COMB.CSE), Sampath Bank (SAMP.CSE), Hatton National Bank (HNB.CSE), and Hayleys (HAYL.CSE), which as of 31 July covered 85% of the Sri Lankan equity universe, according to MSCI.

As of 31 July 2025, the MSCI Sri Lanka index returned 71.92% from a year ago, compared to MSCI Frontier Markets’ 29.93%. In 2024, the MSCI Sri Lanka Index returned 65.43%, compared to 9.42% for MSCI Frontier Markets.