© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A man counts Nigerian naira notes in a market place in Yola, Nigeria, February 22, 2023. REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File Photo
NEW YORK (Reuters) – MSCI will continue to consult with financial market participants on a potential reclassification of Nigeria to standalone market from frontier market after recent changes to foreign exchange trading, the index provider said on Thursday.
Nigeria’s central bank last week moved to liberalize the foreign exchange market and unify exchange rates, and the naira currency has fallen nearly 40% to the dollar since.
MSCI said it will continue until Sept. 29 its consultation on whether to strip Nigeria of its frontier market status and move it to a standalone spot. Results will be announced on or before Oct. 31.
“We decided to extend the consultation to allow more time for the liquidity situation in the Nigerian FX market to stabilize following the recently implemented measures by the central bank,” Jean-Maurice Ladure, global head of index management research at MSCI, said in a statement.
As part of its market classification review, MSCI also said it welcomes proposed measures aimed at improving international investors’ accessibility to the Korean equity market. It may also consult further on the classification of Egypt “in case of further deterioration in market accessibility.”
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