At the Interim review in March 2020, the global index provider FTSE Russell revealed certain clarifications regarding Romanian upgrade from Frontier to Secondary Emerging Market status.

Romanian inclusion in the FTSE Russell Emerging Market indices in September 2020 depend on index eligibility calculated with the data as of 30 June 2020. Romanian securities are going to be added to the FTSE Global Equity Index Series if at least two securities meet the FTSE Global All Cap Index eligibility requirements.

The FTSE Russell yearly review will examine the liquidity of the 8 observed Romanian companies that meet FTSE Russell size criteria for the July 2019 – June 2020 period. In order to pass the liquidity test, the company’s monthly median liquidity must be exceeding 0.05% for at least 10 out of 12 months. The monthly median liquidity requirement is calculated as the monthly median of firm’s daily traded volumes divided by the free-float number of firm’s shares.

However, considering Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) data, so far only two Romanian companies are on track to be included in the FTSE Emerging Market indices, namely Banca Transilvania (TLV) and S.N. Nuclearelectrica (SNN). For the inclusion in the index, Banca Transilvania needs to ensure median daily liquidity of at least 2,150,000 shares for two more months, while S.N. Nuclearelectrica needs to secure median daily liquidity of at least 27,000 shares for the remaining three months.

BVB is cooperating with the issuers, market participants and authorities to secure the inclusion in the FTSE Russell Emerging Market indices in September 2020 by enhancing the market liquidity.