Scrap the FTSE 100 for an index that reflects British business

The FTSE 100 is the benchmark index for the British economy. And yet its make-up of foreign resource companies means it has very little to do with the UK any more. It should be replaced as soon as possible, says Matthew Lynn.

The one thing the City is really good at is constant re-invention. The UK economy may be in ropey shape, the euro about to implode, and the economies of the West in danger of being permanently eclipsed by the rising economic powers of Brazil, India and China, but London is emerging as the stockmarket of choice for many of the world's resources giants. It is in the City where their shares are listed and traded, and it is the City bankers who rake off the fees from raising capital for them.

The last month alone has brought news of two more huge resource companies that will soon be FTSE companies. The Swiss commodities trader Glencore is planning a float in London. With a likely market value of £31bn, it will vault straight into the FTSE 100 index. So will Vallar, Nathanial Rothschild's acquisition vehicle, following the reverse takeover of Indonesian coal-mining company Bumi. It's great, of course, that so many global companies choose London as the place to list their shares. There is a snag, however, and one that needs more debate. The FTSE 100 is the benchmark index for the British economy. And yet, increasingly, it has absolutely nothing to do with the UK.

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Matthew Lynn

Matthew Lynn is a columnist for Bloomberg, and writes weekly commentary syndicated in papers such as the Daily Telegraph, Die Welt, the Sydney Morning Herald, the South China Morning Post and the Miami Herald. He is also an associate editor of Spectator Business, and a regular contributor to The Spectator. Before that, he worked for the business section of the Sunday Times for ten years. 

He has written books on finance and financial topics, including Bust: Greece, The Euro and The Sovereign Debt Crisis and The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031. Matthew is also the author of the Death Force series of military thrillers and the founder of Lume Books, an independent publisher.