In March 2024, reports emerged that BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, had invested in the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE).
While speaking in Ghana on Wednesday, April 3, President William Ruto remarked the company which has a market cap of Ksh16 trillion and assets worth USD10 trillion did not choose to invest in Kenya by accident.
He explained that global investors were opening up to the Kenyan market due to policies and reforms instituted in the last one and a half years.
As a testament that his administration had turned around Kenya’s outlook, Ruto remarked that the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) was now the best-performing stock market in Africa.
This has been achieved through austerity measures as well as the signing of bilateral agreements.
As a chief diplomat, President William Ruto remarked that he had travelled to different countries despite criticism back home.
“We need to showcase what we are made of, and people believe what they see, hear and feel,” he explained of his numerous trips abroad.
“That is why JP Morgan, BlackRock of the US, and many other investors now believe in Kenya. That is why they are investing in the Stock Exchange and many other spaces in our country.”
Ruto remarked that more global investors would continue picking Kenya as their preference when seeking to invest in the continent.
One of the strategies Kenya will employ to maintain investor confidence is by reducing reckless borrowing, which poses a threat to the country's economic stability.
“We are eliminating wastage, ensuring that we live within our means. The signs are already evident in Kenya. We have built a very good profile over the last year and a half globally,” he stated.
With reduced borrowing, Ruto indicated that the Kenyan government would trim the 2024/2025 budget from Ksh4.2 trillion to Ksh3.7 trillion to align with the country's financial capabilities.
