Some observers are not pleased with MSCI’s decision, arguing that Southern Copper should be moved to MSCI’s USA equity index since the company is incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Arizon. Moreover, only 45% of Southern Copper’s business is from Peru and the majority is in Mexico.
Analysts, though, warned that reclassifying Peru could trigger $1.5 billion to $5 billion in outflows from the emerging market as financial products and institutions that track MSCI emerging market indices shift out of the Latin American market.
Related: Precious Metals Power Peru ETF
In the meantime, Peru’s finance ministry and the Lima stock exchange have actively worked toward bolstering liquidity and supported other stocks that could eventually meet MSCI’s investable requirements, potentially solidifying the country’s emerging status. Peru previously avoided a downgraded to frontier market in August 2015 due to low liquidity in the Lima stock exchange – the uncertainty triggered a 5% drop on the exchange in one day of trading.
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iShares MSCI All Peru Capped ETF