(Bloomberg) -- The London Stock Exchange Group PLC is having early discussions about a potential rule change to allow shares that trade in foreign currencies to join major UK indexes, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would be one of its boldest moves yet to attract listings.
Under the potential rule change, companies with London-listed shares denominated in currencies other than the pound could be added to FTSE UK indices, said people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deliberations are private.
The discussions are at a preliminary stage and no final decisions have been made, said the people. There’s no certainty that the exchange group will make any changes, the people said.
A spokesperson for LSEG declined to comment.
Index inclusion can be a draw for companies, given the often large amounts of capital tracking such benchmarks and the potential to make a stock more appealing to additional investors.
Only sterling-denominated stocks can be included into the FTSE UK indices under the current rules.
The deliberations come as London undertakes sweeping reforms to help its capital markets recover from a dearth of initial public offerings and a string of defections from locally listed firms to New York.
Part of the measures already implemented have sought to broaden the universe of companies eligible for inclusion into FTSE indices, namely merging the London Stock Exchange’s former Standard and Premium listing segments into a single commercial companies category.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
