Police officers on March 16, 2020 stop traders and the public from accessing Jomo Kenyatta public beach in Mombasa following government ban on public gatherings. Kenya has started counting the economic cost of the coronavirus pandemic. PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA | NATION MEDIA GROUP Kenya’s economy is largely driven by the agricultural sector.
Mobile money companies and banks are likely to see their fortunes rise in the period.
The Covid-19 nightmare is threatening to cause a recession at the global level.
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Kenya has started assessing the impact of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) that is devastating cities and causing an economic meltdown across the world. The situation was made worse after investors panicked and made indiscriminate sale of shares.
The total market capitalisation shrunk by Sh120 billion – in one of the largest declines in a single day in the history of the Nairobi bourse.
Major stocks such as Safaricom and KCB Bank declined by 5.4 per cent and seven per cent respectively, on day one of the news.
SAFARICOM
Safaricom accounts for the bulk of the action at the NSE and anything that happens on that counter affects the whole performance of the stock market in Kenya.
When this continued on the second day, trading for the NSE 20 index was halted on March 13, 2020 as per the provisions the NSE Equity Trading Rules after it dropped more than five per cent.The NSE All Share Index dropped by 10.4 per cent between March 11 and March 13, 2020.By March 16, the NSE wiped off more than Sh500 billion in paper wealth for investors. AGRICULTURE Kenya’s economy largely depends on the agricultural sector, with tea and coffee exports being the most important drivers.The second most important engine of Kenya’s economy is the tourism, hospitality and the entire service sector, which relies on people moving and getting services in restaurants, hotels and shopping malls, among others, and a shutdown has a direct hit. LOCKDOWN Although it is not yet clear how big the blow will be, the private sector is now coming to terms with the lockdown announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta on Sunday.The Covid-19 nightmare is threatening to cause a global recession whose impact will be felt in Kenya in weeks to come.The biggest hit has been on aviation.International stock markets have also experienced the most painful tumbles, with investors losing billions of shillings.But it is not all gloom in the business […]
