EcoPro lands MSCI Korea Index

Headquarters of EcoPro located in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province (EcoPro)

EcoPro, South Korea's leading producer of secondary battery materials, will be added to the Morgan Stanley Capital International Korea Index, alongside three other domestic companies.

A total of four Korean companies' stocks -- EcoPro, Hanwha Ocean, JYP Entertainment, and Hanmi Semiconductor -- made the listing for MSCI Korean Index, according to the results of the MSCI August Index Review released Thursday.

Meanwhile, two companies -- CJ Group and E-mart -- have been removed from the listing.

The MSCI Index is a global stock index published by the US investment bank Morgan Stanley. It tracks and measures the performance of the stocks included in its listing and serves as a benchmark that informs the investment industry worldwide.

Evaluation for MSCI inclusion is based on total and free-floating (liquid) market capitalization. The index provider adjusts its listing four times a year -- in February, May, August and November.

The changes from August index adjustments will be reflected at the close of trading on Aug. 31.

The domestic securities industry is upbeat about the new inclusions since it is likely to lead to an influx of foreign funds, or global passive funds as the MSCI Korea Index is closely monitored by foreign institutional investors investing in Korean stocks.

Currently, the passive funds tracking the MSCI Index are estimated at around $40 billion. The inclusion of the four Korean firms is speculated to bring about a 1 trillion won ($7.66 million) influx of passive funds, leading to a rise in their stock prices, according to officials in the domestic securities industry.

Meanwhile, 31 new companies were added to the MSCI Korea Small Cap Index, while eight companies were removed.

Earlier, EcoPro was considered a top candidate for MSCI inclusion in May, but it failed to make the listing due to short-term volatility in its stock price when its shares spiked suddenly earlier this year.

According to MSCI, stocks that jump 100 percent to 400 percent between five days and two months prior to the evaluation are considered overheated and therefore ineligible for inclusion into its Standard Indexes.

Shares of Eco Pro and Hanwha Ocean finished lower on Friday, losing 2.14 percent and 1.08 percent, respectively. JYP Entertainment and Hanmi Semiconductor gained 1.97 percent and 2.24 percent, respectively.

An electronic board shows the share price of battery materials firm EcoPro closing at 1.119 million won, in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on July 18. (Yonhap)

By Song Jung-hyun(junghyun792@heraldcorp.com)