PRESS RELEASEMSCI WILL INCREASE THE WEIGHT OF CHINA ASHARES IN MSCI INDEXESLondon – February 28, 2019 – MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of indexes, portfolio analytics, andservices for global investors, announced today that it will increase the weight of China A shares in the MSCIIndexes by increasing the inclusion factor from 5% to 20% in three steps. This decision follows an extensive
global consultation with a large number of international institutional investors, including asset owners,
asset managers, broker/dealers and other market participants worldwide. The proposal to increase theweight of China A shares garnered overwhelming support from investors.
“Stock Connect has proven to be a robust channel to access A shares. The successful implementation of theinitial 5% inclusion of China A shares has been a positive experience for international institutional investors
and has fostered their appetite to increase further their exposure to the mainland China equity market,”said Remy Briand, MSCI Managing Director and Chairman of the MSCI Index Policy Committee. “The strong
commitment by the Chinese regulators to continue to improve market accessibility, evidenced by, among
other things, the significant reduction in trading suspensions in recent months, is another critical factor thathas won the support of international institutional investors.”
The feedback gathered during the consultation indicated that international institutional investors prefer to
see the weight of the China A Large Cap shares increased in three steps rather than in two steps, asoriginally proposed, to alleviate potential execution pressure on the implementation dates. In addition, asignificant proportion of investors also highlighted that China A Mid Cap shares should be included in theMSCI Indexes jointly with the weight increase in Large Cap shares to allow for a smoother implementation.
Finally, the proposal to add ChiNext to the list of eligible stock exchange segments for the MSCI Global
Investable Market Indexes received wide acceptance.
Consequently, MSCI will increase the weight of China A shares in the MSCI Indexes according to thefollowing schedule:

Step 1: MSCI will increase the index inclusion factor of all China A Large Cap shares in the MSCIIndexes from 5% to 10% and add ChiNext Large Cap shares with a 10% inclusion factor coinciding
with the May 2019 Semi Annual Index Review.
Step 2: MSCI will increase the inclusion factor of all China A Large Cap shares in the MSCI Indexes
from 10% to 15% coinciding with the August 2019 Quarterly Index Review.
Step 3: MSCI will increase the inclusion factor of all China A Large Cap shares in the MSCI Indexes
from 15% to 20% and add China A Mid Cap shares, including eligible ChiNext shares, with a 20%inclusion factor to the MSCI Indexes coinciding with the November 2019 Semi-Annual Index Review.

On completion of this three-step implementation, there will be 253 Large and 168 Mid Cap China A shares,including 27 ChiNext shares, on a pro forma basis in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, representing aweight of 3.3% in the pro forma index.
As part of this consultation, international institutional investors also stressed that a future weight increaseof China A shares in the MSCI Indexes beyond 20% would require Chinese authorities to address a numberPage | 1

PRESS RELEASEof remaining market accessibility questions. MSCI is in contact with the appropriate regulatory authorities
to discuss the highlighted market accessibility constraints, including restrictions on access to hedging andderivatives instruments as well as concerns regarding the short settlement cycle of China A shares, thetrading holidays of Stock Connect and the availability of an Omnibus trading mechanism.
MSCI welcomes the progress Chinese authorities have made thus far to improve the accessibility of theChina A shares market and their plans to actively promote the further opening and development of thatmarket. We encourage the rapid realization of that goal, including permitting the listing of index futuresand other derivatives on onshore and offshore exchanges to help address international institutional
investors’ growing needs for further risk management tools, as well as making further improvements in thesettlement cycle, trading holidays and omnibus account structures. These developments would bewelcomed by investors ahead of any future weight increases of China A shares in the MSCI Indexes.
MSCI will continue to monitor market developments to ensure that the weight of China A shares in theMSCI Indexes remains reflective of the improvement of market accessibility standards.
- Ends -Page | 2PRESS RELEASE

About MSCIFor more than 45 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 thedrivers 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 ESGresearch.
For more information, visit us at www.msci.com.

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