South Africa Joins the Citi World Government Bond Index

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The South African Government Bond Index is now included in the Citi World Government Bond Index (WGBI). It becomes the first African government bond market to be incorporated within Citi’s influential WGBI.

“We are delighted to welcome South Africa into the WGBI. There are 12 South African government bonds in the index, with a market value of USD 93.82 billion, and their appearance in the WGBI affords the opportunity to investors to gain exposure to this exciting market”

South Africa’s market value represents 0.45% of the market value of the World Government Bond Index in the October 2012 preliminary profile. It ranks seventeenth by market weight. South Africa’s inclusion brings the number of sovereign markets in the index to 23.

In April, South Africa became eligible for inclusion in the WGBI, having satisfied the three criteria of size, credit quality and lack of barriers to entry. Its entry into the WGBI as of October 2012 was confirmed in June.

“We are delighted to welcome South Africa into the WGBI. There are 12 South African government bonds in the index, with a market value of USD 93.82 billion, and their appearance in the WGBI affords the opportunity to investors to gain exposure to this exciting market,” said Ernest Battifarano, Global Head of Index Development and Production.

The WGBI is a total return index created in 1987. Entry criteria are: total outstanding amount of a market’s eligible issues must exceed USD 50 billion, EUR 40 billion and JPY 5 trillion); domestic long term credit rating must be at least A-/A3 by S&P or Moody’s; and there must be no barriers to entry. WGBI includes sovereign bonds from developed and emerging markets.

-Ends-

Notes to Editors

About Citi

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.

Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com | Twitter: @Citi | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Blog: http://new.citi.com | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi