India just shy of top-weight China in MSCI EM after rejig

$3 bn inflows expected with weighting in excess of 20%

- SAMIE MODAK

The Indian equity markets will soon account for over a fifth of a key emerging market (EM) benchmark tracked by funds with assets exceeding $500 billion. This development is expected to funnel as much as $3 billion into the domestic markets.

Following the latest review undertaken by global index provider MSCI, India's weighting in the MSCI EM index will surpass 20 per cent for the first time, narrowing its gap with the current topweighted China to fewer than 400 basis points.

At the beginning of 2021, India's weighting in the index stood at 9.2 per cent, against China's 38.7 per cent. Over the past three years, however, the equity markets of these two neighbouring countries have diverged sharply - since 2021, the MSCI India index has soared by 84 per cent, while the MSCI China index has plummeted nearly 50 per cent.