Bloomberg seeks investor feedback on including India in global bond index, document shows

MUMBAI, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Bloomberg Index Services is seeking views from investors on whether Indian government bonds should be included in its flagship global aggregate index, according to a notice sent to investors seen by Reuters.

The index provider included India in its emerging market local currency bond index in January 2025.

It is now looking for views on investor experience in India, and whether the South Asian nation's government bonds should be included in the global aggregate index, which has a larger pool of funds tracking it. The amount of money tracking these indexes is not publicly available.

A Bloomberg spokesperson declined comment.

India has 41 securities under the fully accessible route (FAR), for which there are no foreign investment limits. The market value of these securities is currently at $502 billion.

If all these securities were to be included in the global aggregate index, India's weightage in the index would be 0.7%, making it the ninth largest by market value, Bloomberg said in its notice to investors.

A decision on the inclusion of Indian bonds will eventually depend on investor feedback.

JPMorgan was the first major global bond index to include Indian government bonds in its indexes starting in June 2024. Since then, FTSE Russell and Bloomberg have also included India in their emerging market bond indexes.

Indian bonds have recorded net foreign inflows of $874 million so far this year, after receiving $13.3 billion in 2024.