JPMorgan Reclassifies Qatar, Kuwait as Developed Markets
- Emerging-market sovereign risk spread to rise 11 basis points
- Says may remove UAE if cost of living exceeds EM limit again
Qatar Financial Centre in Doha, Qatar.
Photographer: Christopher Pike/BloombergJPMorgan Chase & Co. reclassified Qatar and Kuwait as developed markets and will soon start their removal from its Emerging-Markets Bond Index in a phased manner. It also said the United Arab Emirates may be taken out of the cluster next year.
The elimination of Qatar and Kuwait from EMBI will take place over six months starting with the month-end rebalancing on March 31, JPMorgan’s Global Index Research team said in a statement. From now on, new bond issues from these markets won’t be included in the EM index, JPMorgan said. That includes two benchmark-sized sovereign dollar bonds being sold by Qatar on Thursday.
