Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich during a media briefing in Nairobi, November 8, 2017. [PHOTO/the-star.co.ke]
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich has said that the country will take longer before joining the main Global Financial Centre Index list.Rotich said
there is still a lot to be done
to see
the Nairobi International Financial Centre fully operational.
The NIFC was fourth on the continent to feature in the prestigious index in 2017, joining Johannesburg, Casablanca and Mauritius.
However, this year's index released in September showed that the yet-to-be-established NIFC got assessed a paltry 61 times in the last two years, way below the stipulated minimum of 515 times.
Rotich said though the government has identified some space in Upper Hill where to host the hub, it will take some more time for collaborating institutions to be set up.
''The NIFC secretariat, which operates from Treasury, is working with other regulatory bodies to have the centre in place as soon as possible," he told the press.
"However, much remains to be done, with the government expected to come up with rules on issues such as tax treatment of companies and deals within the finance hub."