The Nairobi Securities Exchange. [Photo/the-star.co.ke]
Two companies plan to offload shares on the open market through an Initial Public Offer (IPOs), Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), has revealed.
NSE Chief Executive Officer Geoffrey Odundo IPOs of the-yet-to-named firms in the infrastructure and energy sectors will revitalise and rev upmarket recovery after the prolonged political stand-off.
“We believe that if we get two companies from the infrastructure and energy sectors, interest will spark and this will help in market recovery,” Odundo said. He said the political stand-off had impacted negatively on the performance of the NSE but reiterated market resilience and its ability to recover fast from such shocks.
He spoke at the Seventh Annual EFG Hermes London Conference where opportunities in the Nairobi bourse were discussed with a large gathering of global investors and fund managers in attendance.
The NSE chief executive said the proposed IPOs are critical to the economy’s ability to generate wealth and innovation in the two sectors, noting the recent development of domestic capital pools in the form of buoyant pension and mutual fund industries will help in boosting market liquidity. “We are committed to having pension funds enhance liquidity in the market.
We are looking at how direct property ownership can be reduced from 20 to two percent to support the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) market,” he said. Odundo said the Capital Markets Authority will work closely with other stakeholders to increase access and education for retail investors through the use of technology.