Explained: How South Korea's ban on short-selling may impact India

Move could delay transition to DM, which when happens is expected to boost India's weighting in MSCI indices

South Korea’s move to ban stock short-selling may further delay its quest to bag an ‘upgrade’ to ‘developed market’ status from global index provider MSCI, said analysts.

Starting Monday, South Korea will prohibit stock short-selling until June 2024 to allow its regulators to “actively” improve rules and systems.  South Korea is currently classified as an ‘emerging market (EM)’ alongside India, China and Taiwan in MSCI indices.

During its review in June, the global index provider maintained the EM status despite reforms undertaken by South Korea to ease access to its market.

Back then, MSCI had said it would reconsider South Korea’s reclassification after