Family-owned firms shy away from listing on stock markets

Kenya: Majority of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) owned by families in the country do not want to list on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) fearing loss of clout in their firms and thus being edged out.

A new report by capital market players revealed that family enterprises are hesitant to share their businesses information with the public as required in law once an entity is made public. Stephen Wells, one of the report authors, said that the SMEs are always reluctant to relinquish control and be subjected to new and tight regulation regime.