Indonesia moves to fend off MSCI downgrade by removing tightly held companies from its index

Summary

Indonesia is expelling tightly held companies from the Jakarta index in an effort to avoid a downgrade by index provider MSCI, according to a Financial Times report, which says MSCI has repeatedly raised concerns over investability in south-east Asia's largest economy. The South China Morning Post reports that MSCI announced a formal consultation on whether to reclassify Indonesia from emerging-market to stand-alone status, a change that would affect Southeast Asia's largest economy. Financial regulators and stock exchange officials have vowed to address systemic concerns, including removing stocks with concentrated ownership, to ease fears about the threat.

Timeline

1. Financial Times

   19 Oct 2026, 15:59 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that Indonesia is expelling tightly held companies from the Jakarta index to avoid an MSCI downgrade, and that MSCI has repeatedly raised concerns over investability in the country.

2. South China Morning Post

   20 Oct 2026, 10:02 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that MSCI launched a formal consultation on whether to downgrade Indonesia from emerging-market to stand-alone status, and that the country's financial regulators and stock exchange officials have vowed reforms, including removing stocks with concentrated ownership, to address systemic concerns.