The Capital Markets Authority plans to publish the new Public Offers Listing and Disclosures Regulations in June in a bid to unlock additional entries on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. CMA says the team made up of local and international consultants is putting final touches on the regulations before they are subjected to public participation.
The reforms will focus on among others minimum free float requirement and tradable shares.
It has been the worst dry spell for the Nairobi Securities Exchange since it was established more than seven decades ago.
The Exchange has not attracted any Initial Public Offer for more than a decade from a corporate entity apart from the demutualization of the NSE in 2014.
The Growth Enterprise Market Segment which was established in 2013 to encourage enterprises list at the bourse has only managed five firms with no strong prospects of going public anytime soon.
Part of the IPO drought is attributed to the strict requirements set out by the capital markets authority.
The authority says the amendments seek to address the minimum number of investors for companies seeking to sell shares to the public, a reduction in the paid up capital from and prudential guidelines among others.
Under the current regulations, investors eyeing the main investment market segment must offer a minimum of 25 percent of their shares to the public while those seeking to list on the Growth Enterprise Market Segment (GEMS) must have 15 percent of their shares available for trading.
CMA says they plan to have the regulation published by the National Treasury by June 2021 with the hope of unlocking more listings of the market.
The overhaul of the public offers listing and disclosures regulations is being done under the Kenya Investment Mechanism. Tell Us What You Think
