Video: MSCI Chief Talks A-Share Inclusion, Future of Finance in China

On June 1, Chinese stocks passed a major milestone in their bid to go global, as more than 200 of the nation’s biggest domestically listed companies were officially included in a group of widely tracked indexes published by U.S. giant MSCI Inc.

Despite its relatively small representation in the benchmark MSCI Emerging Markets Index, the inclusion follows a years-long campaign. China is slowly exposing the country’s young stock markets to foreign participation, while global fund managers are always trying to tap more opportunities in world’s second largest economy.

“China will be under the magnifying glass now, as the market is going to be shared between retail investors and institutional investors in and outside of China,” MSCI CEO Henry Fernandez told Caixin. “I think that China, as a global economy, will need to have the financial system that goes with its position and stature in the global economy.”

To better understand MSCI’s inclusion of A-shares, Caixin’s Wang Liwei sat down with Fernandez to discuss his views on the meaning and impact of A-share inclusion, as well as his thoughts on China’s financial markets and how Chinese shares could make up a greater part of MSCI’s indexes in the future.

The following video contains excerpts of that exclusive interview.