The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has responded to an article published by Bloomberg ranking it as the worst performing stock market in the world.
In a statement sent to Kenyans.co.ke, the bourse dismissed Bloomberg's findings, saying the position did not provide a holistic view of Kenya's public capital markets and placed a special emphasis on one parameter, the NSE All Share Index without considering other critical aspects.
According to NSE, the article did not account for float adjustments, dividend yields and comparative peer group markets which are other factors investors consider before making market decisions.
To prove their point, the securities exchange cited an assessment report done by FTSE(Financial Times Stock Exchange) Russell that listed the NSE in its index whilst removing similar exchanges, reflecting an appreciation for Kenya's market structure and performance.
“In addition, the Morgan Stanley Capital International in its August 2023 review of Kenya, noted that NSE had a dividend yield of 8.63 per cent compared to 4.28 per cent for the peer group markets,” NSE affirmed.
NSE argued that Kenya’s security market has experienced growth for the first half of this year, with an increase of 9 per cent compared to the same period last year.
“Kenya’s income securities market has made significant growth. The monthly value of bonds traded by NSE reached a two year high by September 2023,” the statement further read.
NSE asserted that it is among the leading stock exchanges in Africa offering 5 public market platforms and a private market solution.
Bloomberg's article dated 2 October 2023, ranked NSE as the worst performer citing a decline in the NSE's All Share Index.
The article indicated that Kenya’s Stock market is facing a decline due to limited investor interest.
“The NSE share Index posted the fourth consecutive quarter of decline in September, the longest stretch since 2017,” noted the article.
