In a significant recognition of Romania’s financial market progress, MSCI, one of the major global index providers, has upgraded Romania’s capital market classification to an Advanced Frontier Market. The decision follows MSCI’s 2025 Global Market Accessibility Review published earlier this month and represents an important milestone on Romania’s path toward achieving Emerging Market status.
The reclassification places Romania alongside Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia in the newly created Advanced Frontier Markets category. “This subcategory identifies Frontier Markets that demonstrate market accessibility characteristics closely aligned with those of Developed Markets but remain classified as Frontier Markets due to their size and liquidity constraints,” states the MSCI report.
Romanian companies are expected to hold the largest share within MSCI’s Advanced Frontier Market indices, underscoring the country’s prominence in this subset of markets.
Radu Hanga, President of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), highlighted the significance of MSCI’s recognition, noting it underscores Romania’s sustained efforts to enhance market accessibility and financial infrastructure. “Romania’s capital market receives international reconfirmation of its potential, especially as the Bucharest Stock Exchange celebrates its 30th anniversary,” said Hanga. He expressed confidence that Romania would soon meet the additional criteria needed to attain MSCI’s coveted Emerging Market status.
Echoing these sentiments, Adrian Tănase, CEO of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, described MSCI’s decision as pivotal, noting: “The recognition brings us closer to securing Emerging Market status, offering substantial economic benefits for Romania as a whole.”
Following the recent evaluation, Romania earned top scores across MSCI’s accessibility criteria, demonstrating openness to foreign ownership, ease of capital inflows and outflows, and an efficient operational market framework. However, MSCI has also identified areas for improvement in regard to the clearing and settlement procedures and the transferability of ownership.
Currently, Romania features 35 listed companies in the MSCI indices, including prominent names such as Banca Transilvania, Hidroelectrica, OMV Petrom, and Nuclearelectrica. Simultaneously, FTSE Russell classifies Romania as an Emerging Market, where it is represented by 14 companies across FTSE’s indices.
This advancement by MSCI is expected to draw increased international investor interest, enhancing liquidity and further elevating Romania’s global financial market profile.
editor@romania-insider.com
(Photo source: BVB)
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