Credit: REUTERS/THOMAS WHITEHONG KONG/SHANGHAI, April 3 (Reuters) - FTSE Russell is keeping China on a watchlist for entering its flagship World Government Bond Index (WGBI) and will continue to monitor Malaysia for a possible downgrade, the index provider said in a statement late Thursday.
The index provider said it usually provides an interim March update, but any changes to country classifications, which indicate FTSE Russell's judgment of market accessibility for index inclusion, are implemented only in the September review.
FTSE Russell held off on including China in the WGBI last September, citing long-standing operational issues, and gave Malaysia six months to improve market conditions and avoid exit from the benchmark.
(Reporting by Noah Sin and Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
((Andrew.Galbraith@tr.com; +86 21 2083 0079; Reuters Messaging: andrew.galbraith.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net ; Twitter: https://twitter.com/apgalbraith))
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