World Bulletin / News Desk

Equities index compiler MSCI will on Friday include mainland China-listed companies on its benchmark indices, giving many foreign investors their first exposure to Chinese shares.

The MSCI indices track constituent companies' performances, which are then used as a guide for cash-rich foreign institutional investors (FIIs).

Following are answers to key questions on what this mean for China and foreign investors.

Why did it take so long?

US-based MSCI has for years resisted adding China-listed stocks -- or "A-shares".

Concerns included Chinese government meddling in business, murky corporate governance, and difficulties foreign institutions faced buying shares in China's walled-off markets.

Then there's the volatility caused by the millions of unsophisticated small investors who drive most trading with often bizarre "buy" decisions, such as a surge in companies whose names resembled North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's when he visited Beijing in March.