Pakistan hit by 13% drop in capitalisation; HMB enters Frontier Index, SEARL exits

The latest review by MSCI has shown a decline in Pakistan's overall weight in the MSCI Frontier Markets Index. Pakistan's share dropped to 4.8%, down from 5.8% in the previous review.

Topline Securities attributed the decline primarily to a nearly 13% fall in the market capitalisation of existing Pakistani constituents, while the overall capitalisation of the global frontier markets index increased by about 6% during the same period. MSCI also announced changes to its Frontier Market Indexes in its May 2026 semi?annual review, adding Habib Metro Bank (HMB) to the main Pakistan index while removing Searle Pakistan Limited (SEARL).

The brokerage house said HMB qualified for inclusion after meeting the required liquidity threshold, also known as the annualised traded value ratio (ATVR). SEARL was excluded because its FIF?adjusted free?float market capitalisation fell below the minimum benchmark set by MSCI, according to Topline Securities.

According to the review, the minimum free?float market capitalisation threshold for the May 2026 review stood at $116 million. SEARL's adjusted free?float market capitalisation declined to nearly $82 million by the end of April 2026, leading to its exclusion from the index.

In contrast, Habib Metro Bank's adjusted free?float market capitalisation reached approximately $129.5 million, comfortably above the threshold level. Analysts at Topline said HMB had already satisfied the free?float requirement earlier, but its latest inclusion appears to have been driven mainly by improved trading liquidity.