Chinese bonds to be included in FTSE WGBI index

Global index provider FTSE Russell announced Chinese government bonds would be included in the FTSE World Government Bond Index starting Oct 29.

The London-headquartered index compiler published the results of its semi-annual country classification review and made the announcement on its official website on Monday.

The inclusion of Chinese bonds in the WGBI will occur over a period of 36 months to ensure an orderly transition for markets and investors, FTSE Russell said.

Waqas Samad, CEO of FTSE Russell, also congratulated Chinese market authorities on reaching this important milestone. "This confirmation is based on affirmation with members of the FTSE Russell advisory committees and other index users that ongoing reforms to the Chinese government bond market warrant inclusion in the WGBI."

Standard Chartered Bank earlier predicted upon official inclusion this October, between 130 and 150 billion yuan of passive investment is expected to flow into the Chinese bond market within a year.

Before FTSE Russell, Chinese bonds had already been included in the Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Index and JP Morgan's Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets.