MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI), a leading provider of indexes and portfolio construction and risk management tools and services for global investors, today announced the signing of an agreement with the Saudi Stock Exchange Co. (Tadawul), the largest stock exchange in the region in terms of market capitalization and turnover, to create a joint tradeable index that can serve as the basis for investment instruments including derivatives and ETFs.

In June 2018, MSCI announced the classification of the Saudi Arabian equity market as an Emerging Market as part of their annual global market classification review. The Index will be based on the broader MSCI Saudi Arabia index series that will be part of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. The joint tradeable index will be available in Q4 2018.

Henry Fernandez, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MSCI, said, “Saudi Arabia has undergone a remarkably rapid period of change in the past few years. This joint index is possible as a result of the Kingdom’s adoption of international standards and desire to create additional investment opportunities for domestic and international investors.”

Khalid Al Hussan, Chief Executive Officer of Tadawul, said, “The creation of the joint tradable index provides a strong foundation for the development of index futures and other exchange-traded products. As the Saudi market is fully integrated into global emerging market indices, including MSCI, launch of an index will pave the way for ETFs and other products that enable investors to broaden exposure and diversify and risk while enhancing the overall efficiency of the market.”

About MSCI

For more than 40 years, MSCI’s research-based indexes and analytics have helped the world’s leading investors build and manage better portfolios. Clients rely on our offerings for deeper insights into the drivers of performance and risk in their portfolios, broad asset class coverage and innovative research.

Our line of products and services includes indexes, analytical models, data, real estate benchmarks and ESG research.

MSCI serves 99 of the top 100 largest money managers, according to the most recent P&I ranking.

For more information, visit us at www.msci.com.

About Tadawul

Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) is the sole entity authorized in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to act as the Kingdom’s securities exchange (the Exchange), listing and trading in securities. The Saudi stock market is the 23rd largest stock market among the 67 members of the World Federation of Exchanges and is the dominant market in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) comprising 50 percent of total GCC market capitalization and 79 percent of value traded. The Exchange is the 7th largest stock market amongst its emerging market peers.

For more information see: www.tadawul.com.sa