NAIROBI, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Kenya plans to woo African firms to list at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) in order to make the country a regional financial hub, officials said on Monday.
Geoffrey Odundo, chief executive officer of NSE told Xinhua in Nairobi that so far Ugandan and Rwandese firms have cross listed at the Nairobi bourse.
"We want to encourage more African blue chip firms to list their shares at the NSE so that they can enhance the liquidity of the Kenyan capital markets," Odundo said when the Institute of Certified Financial Analysts (ICIFA) entered into an agreement with the NSE.
Odundo said that Kenyan capital market provides an opportunity for African firms to raise affordable long term finance to expand their operations.
Odundo said that Kenya is focusing on increasing the number of firms list at the NSE.
"More firms trading means that investors have a large pool of equity instruments to choose from,"he said.
He said that Kenya has a large pool of both institutional and retail investors that are willing to invest in firms that will offer good returns.
The NSE has also developed an incubation program that aims to lure more local firms to consider listing at the NSE in order to deepen local markets.
Odundo revealed that Kenya has a series of tax incentives for firms that list at the NSE.
He said that more firms will help to deepen the securities exchange where more than 60 percent of the market capitalization is currently dominated by six companies.
