Foreign Media Highlight MSCI's Decision on Indonesian Market

Several foreign media outlets have highlighted Morgan Stanley Capital International’s (MSCI) decision to once again postpone its review of Indonesia’s market status until November 2026. For the time being, Indonesia retains its classification as an emerging market.

Singapore’s CNA, citing Reuters, reported in an article titled “Indonesia clings to emerging markets mantle as MSCI extends review to November” that the announcement triggered a brief recovery rally. However, the publication noted that broader concerns about Indonesia persist. “Sentiment is likely to remain subdued in a market that has gone from darling to dud,” it stated. “Since January, Indonesia has announced measures to help ease some of those concerns.”

The report also quoted local analyst Mohit Mirpuri from SGMC Capital in Singapore, who said the MSCI extension was a better outcome than many had feared, noting that the index compiler did not launch a frontier market consultation and explicitly acknowledged the reforms. “The tone was constructive but clearly conditional,” he said. “I think the immediate downgrade risk has been deferred rather than eliminated. The pressure from MSCI likely remains… which may keep some foreign investors cautious.”

CNBC International also covered the story, highlighting Indonesia alongside South Korea. In an article titled “MSCI keeps South Korea as emerging market, delays Indonesia review amid downgrade risk”, it noted that the extended review for Indonesia follows MSCI’s earlier concerns about market accessibility, which led to a freeze on Indonesian stocks from its indexes in January due to investability worries. MSCI stated it will continue to evaluate reforms by Indonesian authorities, but if measures prove insufficient, the index provider will consider a range of options for the appropriate treatment of the Indonesian market, including a potential downgrade to frontier market status.