S&P Dow Jones announces launch of 14 new African equity indexes

By Tali Rackner

Norfolk, Va., May 13 - S&P Dow Jones Indices announced the launch of the 14 new equity indexes covering 13 African markets, according to a press release.

The launch comes on the heels of the continuing expansion in Africa. So far this year, S&P Dow Jones has launched 29 new indexes covering varying segments of the African and South African equity markets.

The headline index is the S&P All Africa, a comprehensive benchmark for the African continent. The index combines the constituents of the S&P Pan Africa, S&P South Africa Composite, and S&P Zimbabwe BMI, as well as developed market listed companies that operate purely in or derive a majority of their revenues from the African continent.

The other 13 indexes are the following:

• S&P All Africa ex-South Africa: Designed to serve as a comprehensive benchmark for the African market excluding South Africa;

• S&P All Africa Capped: Modifies the S&P All Africa, ensuring that the weights of individual countries, sectors and companies are limited;

• S&P All Africa ex-South Africa Capped: Modifies the S&P All Africa ex-South Africa, ensuring that the weights of individual countries, sectors and companies are limited;

• S&P East Africa: Designed to serve as a comprehensive benchmark for the East Africa region within the S&P All Africa, and includes companies listed in Kenya;

• S&P North Africa: Designed to serve as a comprehensive benchmark for the North Africa region within the S&P All Africa, and includes companies listed in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia;

• S&P Southern Africa ex-South Africa: Designed to serve as a comprehensive benchmark for the Southern Africa ex-South Africa region within the S&P All Africa, and includes stocks from Botswana, Mauritius, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe;

• S&P West Africa: Designed to serve as a comprehensive benchmark for the West Africa region within the S&P All Africa, and includes companies listed in Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria;

• S&P All Africa Select: Consists of 100 of the largest and most liquid companies from the S&P All Africa, including 50 South African companies and 50 non-South African companies.

• S&P All Africa ex-South Africa Select: Designed to be a broad, yet replicable index measuring the performance of the largest, most liquid companies listed in Africa ex-South Africa and companies listed in developed markets that derive the majority of their revenues from the African continent;

• S&P East Africa 10: Consists of 10 of the largest and most liquid companies listed in Kenya. The index employs a 25% single stock cap to reduce concentration;

• S&P North Africa 15: Consists of 15 of the largest and most liquid companies listed in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. The index employs a 20% single stock cap to reduce concentration;

• S&P Southern Africa ex-South Africa 10: Consists of 10 of the largest and most liquid companies listed in Botswana, Mauritius, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The index employs a 25% single stock cap to reduce concentration; and

• S&P West Africa 25: Consists of 25 of the largest and most liquid companies listed in Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria. The index employs a 15% single stock cap to reduce concentration.

"Continuing with this year's launch of 15 South Africa indices and now strengthened with today's extensive offering of over a dozen new regional African indices, S&P Dow Jones Indices now offers investors a comprehensive suite of benchmark and tradable equity indices covering the African continent," CEO Alexander Matturri said in the release.

S&P Dow Jones is part of New York-based McGraw-Hill Cos., a resource for index-based concepts, data and research.

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