Kenya's bourse to target Chinese investors to expand market capitalization

NAIROBI - Kenya's bourse is targeting Chinese investors in order to expand its market capitalization, the bourse's top official said on Wednesday.

Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) CEO Geoffrey Odundo told Xinhua in Nairobi that the current market capitalization stands at $23 billion.

"We are hoping that by targeting Chinese companies to list on the NSE, we can double our market capitalization by the end of 2019," Odundo said when Kenya Airways listed additional shares at the NSE following a financial restructuring plan that reduced the airline's debt by approximately $500 million.

Odundo said that currently 70 percent of the trading at the NSE is dominated by foreign investors from the United States, Europe and South Africa.

"We want to diversify the pool of international investors to include Chinese investors," he said. The CEO added that NSE is developing products that will appeal to Chinese investors.

The Kenyan bourse also plans to conduct a road show in China to showcase the opportunities for Chinese investors at the capital markets.

In order to expand the Sino-Kenya commercial links, Odundo said the bourse has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Odundo said that the agreement is a big milestone achievement as it is meant to attract a new class of investors from the Asian continent.

Under the MOU, there will be sharing of knowledge between the Kenayan and Chinese bourses. "Shanghai Stock Exchange is a well developed capital market that Kenya can learn valuable lessons from," he added.