Coal miner Yancoal Ltd (ASX:YAL) has officially made it into the ASX200 (and ASX300) in the latest S&P equity rebalance.

From the 23rd of September, YAL will commence trading as an ASX200 stock per guidance from S&P Dow Jones dated 6 September.

Yancoal’s inclusion on the ASX200 follows its name popping up in the Chinese Hang Seng Composite, “and inclusion in the list of stocks eligible for trading under the Stock Connect program with the mainland Chinese stock market in March 2023.”

Yankuang Energy Group Company, a Chinese company, is YAL’s largest shareholder.

“We were encouraged to see the notable increase in the Company’s market valuation, average daily turnover and shareholder base during recent years as we recovered from extended rain disruptions and our free float increased,” Yancoal CEO David Moult said.

“Yancoal provides investors with direct exposure to international coal markets … we see the Company’s inclusion in the S&P ASX indices providing a further opportunity to expand our investor base and bolster the trading liquidity of our shares.”

Yancoal has without doubt been a beneficiary of the COVID-era. Like other coal stocks, it shot up when the price of that fuel source went up during the pandemic years of supply chain pressures.

Coal stocks effectively became vogue again as environmental stigmas fell away in the face of a more urgent need to keep the lights on, generally speaking. Those who had long dismissed the ESG arguments were vindicated, helping to lead markets to a fresh wave of enthusiasm for coal in general.

How long Yancoal’s good tidings will last remains to be seen, and to be sure, coal still remains a fairly massive part of the Australian energy economy. But its role is slipping: more and more stations are being phased out, regardless of whether intended shutdown dates change around.

At the same time, renewables continue to power more and more of Australia’s power grid(s) – to the extent we’re curtailing massive amounts of energy from wind and solar due to the inflexible nature of coal plants.

But for now: there’s clearly still value in the trade.

YAL last traded at $5.30.