Stop overreliance on public firms for listings, NSE told

Nairobi Securities Exchange CEO Geoffrey Odundo (left) presents a gift to DP William Ruto (right) while NSE chairman Samuel Kimani (centre) looks on during the launch of 7th Building African financial markets (BAFM) seminar at Villa Rosa Kempinski in Nairobi on April 19 2018. [Photo by Edward Kiplimo/Standard]

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has been urged to tap into the private sector to get new listings instead of focusing too much on State firms.

Deputy President William Ruto said yesterday the Government’s privatisation policy had brought to the market key firms such as KCB, Safaricom and KenGen, but the bourse should not overrely on such initiatives for new listings. “Our understanding is that it must not be a preserve of public companies. We need a mechanism where private companies, which are in their thousands, can join the NSE,” he said.