JP Morgan to add Philippines and Saudi Arabia to key EM bond index over 10 months

JP Morgan said on Thursday that Saudi Arabia and the Philippines will be added to its closely followed ‌local-currency emerging market debt index over a 10-month period starting from January 29, 2027.

The inclusion, which was first sketched out in April, will bring ​Saudi riyal-denominated sovereign sukuk and Philippine ​peso-denominated government bonds into the US investment bank's widely tracked GBI-EM index series

Their weights ​will be introduced gradually, with Saudi Arabia's ​weight expected to reach 2.71% once fully phased in, slightly higher than originally flagged, and the Philippines' weight reaching 1.64%, marginally lower than indicated


The index will add nine Philippine bonds with a total notional value of $50 billion plus eight Saudi sukuk instruments worth $79 billion

JP Morgan's update is part ​of a broader index adjustment, which ​will lower the "Country Cap" - the maximum weight, or share, any single country can hold in the "diversified" index - to 9% from 10%

As a result, major markets including China, India, Mexico, Malaysia, and Indonesia ​will have ​their weight reduced to the new limit