Firms eye Nairobi, London bourses

The local capital market is set to witness fresh capital injection with the planned dual listing of companies in Nairobi and London bourses.

The new Capital Markets Authority (CMA) chairman James Ndegwa said the authority and the London Stock Exchange are exploring ways for dual listing, which will allow companies to raise equity capital.

“Dual listing will create a platform for Kenyan companies to attract the world’s largest investors and gain international visibility without compromising their ability to tap domestic capital and develop a robust domestic shareholder base,” said Mr Ndegwa during the Capital Markets Open Day at Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) on Thursday.

“It’s a good way to allow foreign companies extend their wealth into the market and offer local investors openings to buy stakes in the global entities.”

National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich who opened the event said the local capital market is still struggling in terms of its low contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“Our capital market input to the GDP currently stand at 45 percent compared to other counties like South Korea and South Africa, which enjoys economic output of over 80 percent from their capital markets,” said Rotich.