New Zealand sovereign bonds will be on more investors' radars after being added to the FTSE World Government Bond Index.
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The index, which is operated by global provider FTSE Russell, gives investors broad exposure to sovereign debt from more than 20 countries, including the United States, the UK and Germany.
It measures the performance of fixed-rate, local currency, sovereign bonds and is regarded as a key benchmark for global treasuries.
New Zealand was being included because of its high credit rating and the recent growth in sovereign debt market, as more debt had been issued in recent years.
The bonds would be added in November and would comprise about 0.2 percent of the index.
In a statement, New Zealand Debt Management head Kim Martin said it welcomed the decisions to included.
"We look forward to the additional opportunities that inclusion in FTSE fixed incomes indices will bring to our developed market, with its highly-rated sovereign issuance and significant international investor participation."
BNZ senior market strategist Jason Wong said the country's inclusion was significant insofar as our bonds would now be on the radar screens of global fixed-interest investors.
"At the very margin our cost of debt may fall slightly, but we're talking fractions of basis points there, so that's not overly significant. It just might mean it could be easier over time for the government to borrow more money and attract a wider pool of investors."
FTSE Russell is a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group that produces, licenses and markets stock market indices.