Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Co. SA (EEEK)’s decision to leave its home equity market in Athens for London increases the chance that Greece will be demoted to an emerging market next year, MSCI Inc. (MSCI) said.
The index provider put Greece’s stock market under review for downgrade from developed status on June 20 and will make a final decision as part of its annual reclassification in June next year. The MSCI Greece Index (MXGR) consists of just two companies, with the world’s second-largest Coca-Cola bottler accounting for 75 percent by weight.
Market size “is the main driver for us to make that proposal, but on top of that, one needs to admit that there are still some operational issues that have been present since the inclusion of MSCI Greece in developed markets back in 2001,” Sebastian Lieblich, global head of index management at MSCI in Geneva, said in a phone interview yesterday. Coca-Cola’s exit is “a very important development, and this is something we’d need to assess how investors see this move.”
Coca-Cola HBC’s departure will shave off about two-thirds of the increase in Greece’s market size since the end of June. The country’s largest company by market value is fleeing the epicenter of the euro-area sovereign-debt crisis, saying it wants a more stable economic and regulatory environment. The company will be based in Switzerland and will trade on the London Stock Exchange.
Lieblich said that MSCI’s decisions are based on consultations with investors.
(source: Bloomberg)
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