The Nairobi Securities Exchange on Tuesday, April 2, announced that Kenya’s equity market had been lifted from its restricted category and now classified as pass.
NSE updating the public explained that the restriction was lifted by the FTSE Russel Index following a governance board that was held in March 2024.
This was regarded as a major win by NSE and for the country as it boosted investors' confidence. Their approval will translate into more trading in the Kenyan market.
FTSE Russel is an international global stock market monitoring family that enables investors to track the performances of equity markets worldwide.
On what led to the approval, NSE announced that the FTSE governance board put into consideration its equity country classification interim review of Kenya's equity market against a range of technical criteria.
“As per the assessment, Kenya's equity market cleared previously reported delays in the ability of institutional investors to repatriate capital from Kenya,” NSE updated.
“Consequently, the restrictions on the implementation of index changes for Kenyan securities within FTSE Russell equity indices were therefore lifted effective September 2023.”
Kenya’s equity market approval was also supported by market practitioners who have technical expertise in different fields including; trading, custody, and investment management.
“The assessment is also supported by the FTSE Russell Policy Advisory Board, which represents the views of leading global investors who furnish FTSE Russell with expert insights into the realities of investing in equity markets across the globe,” it was reported further.
Following the upgrade, NSE Acting Chief Executive David Wainaina remarked that this was a testament that international institutional investors had confidence in the Kenyan market.
How the upgrade will help Kenya
The FTSE Russel Index is one of the most trusted global trackers of equity markets where publicly listed companies are issued and traded through exchanges or over the counter.
Due to the global recognition and trust, their data is used by investors all over the world to inform asset allocation decisions, support portfolio construction, and conduct risk and performance analysis.
