Morgan Sindall : Serbia’s New Success – Inclusion into J.P. Morgan’s Index within Reach

Serbia's New Success - Inclusion into J.P. Morgan's Index within Reach

J.P. Morgan, one of the most respected financial services institutions in the world, officially announced today that Serbia has been placed on Index Watch Positive for potential inclusion into the J.P. Morgan Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) series.

This decision comes as yet another recognition of the results Serbia has achieved in terms of developing the domestic economy and the financial market, as well as of the activities taken thus far in order to create an attractive local investment environment.

'This is a huge recognition of everything we have done so far. For years, we have been striving for inclusion in the J.P. Morgan Bond Index, and now it is officially within reach. Just a few years ago this was unthinkable, and today we have a country that is in the rank of globally attractive investment destinations', said NBS Governor Jorgovanka Tabaković.

'Even today's announcement has to a significant degree drawn international investors' attention to Serbia. In case of a positive decision, which we undoubtedly expect by mid-year, the effects on the domestic financial market will be numerous - our investor base will expand considerably and Serbia will be eligible for the broadest group of eminent investors from all over the word', assessed the Governor.

In its report, J.P. Morgan particularly emphasizes that the activities undertaken by Serbia in the prior period in terms of adjusting its bond market to the best international practice have resulted in increased foreign investors' demand for local securities and an evident increase in secondary market liquidity in the last two years.

The decision to include the Serbian bonds in this index will most likely be made in the second quarter (April-June 2020), but the very fact that Serbia has been placed on Index Watch Positive is a clear signal that it has met all the requirements to be in the renowned group of emerging countries deemed safe for investment by international investors.

That this is a huge success is confirmed by the fact that through this process, the inclusion of Serbian dinar bonds in the GBI-EM Global Diversified Index will also be considered, given that it is the benchmark index of bonds in the local currency of emerging countries which is most frequently tracked.

Governor's Office