(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 30. The global index provider MSCI (Morgan Stanley Capital International) has included Slovenia in the newly established subcategory“Advanced Frontier Markets” in its MSCI 2025 Global Market Accessibility Review Report. This classification represents an important step toward greater international recognition for Slovenia and confirms the maturity of the Slovenian capital market, Trend reports citing the Slovenian government website.

MSCI is one of the most influential companies in the world that creates global indices. These indices serve as performance benchmarks and references for billions of euros in investments worldwide. MSCI classifies markets into three main categories:

• Developed Markets – the most mature and liquid capital markets with highly developed economies,

• Emerging Markets (EMS) – developing capital markets that have reached a certain level of development and accessibility but are not yet as stable and liquid as developed markets, and

• Frontier Markets – smaller and less developed capital markets in the early stages of capital market development.

When a country is classified into a particular MSCI index category, it becomes recognized and attractive to international investors, who often rely on these indices for investment decisions. The higher the category, the greater the visibility and, consequently, attractiveness to investors, which can lead to increased capital inflows.

As part of its 2025 market classification review, MSCI introduced the new subcategory "Advanced Frontier Market". It is intended for capital markets that, despite possible limitations in size and liquidity, demonstrate a high level of market accessibility and other characteristics similar to those of developed markets. This means that the administrative and operational frameworks of these markets are efficient, open to foreign ownership, and allow easy capital flows.

Slovenia, previously classified as a frontier market, has met these criteria, with only minimal deviations from the highest scores in market accessibility and, crucially, zero capital flow restrictions. This clearly confirms the high quality of Slovenia's legal and regulatory framework, as well as its operational processes, which are essential for building trust among international investors.

Among the first members of this group, alongside Slovenia, are Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania.

MSCI's recognition of Slovenia as an Advanced Frontier Market affirms the country's efforts and actions to revitalize its capital market. This upgrade is of great importance for the country and reflects the active implementation of the Capital Market Development Strategy in Slovenia until 2030, adopted by the Government in March 2023. The Ministry of Finance is implementing the strategy together with other stakeholders through various measures (issuance of retail bonds, the Act on Individual Investment Accounts, a new National Financial Literacy Program, etc.).

This new status improves Slovenia's accessibility for international investors and enhances the capital market's contribution to economic growth, financing opportunities for companies, and diversification of savings for the population.

The focus now shifts to reaching a higher level – achieving Emerging Market status, which is the ultimate goal of Slovenia's Capital Market Development Strategy. To achieve this ambitious objective, Slovenia will need to address challenges primarily in the areas of market size and liquidity, as well as competition among financial intermediaries and the resulting trading costs.

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