Douglas Mwiti 
- Kenya’s Equity Market Receives major Boost following the upgrade on its classification by FTSE Russell Index from ‘Restricted’ to ‘Pass’ in relation to the investments of Capital and Income;
The Nairobi Securities Exchange Plc (NSE) equity market has received an upgrade on its classification from Restricted to Pass by the FTSE Russell Index Governance Board in March 2024.
This follows the FTSE equity country classification interim review of Kenya’s equity market against a range of technical criteria .
As per the assessment, Kenya’s equity market cleared previously reported delays in the ability of institutional investors to repatriate capital from Kenya. Consequently, the restrictions on the implementation of index changes for Kenyan securities within FTSE Russell equity indices were lifted effective September 2023.
The classification and assessment is supported by FTSE Russell’s external advisory committees and FTSE Equity Country Classification Advisory Committee. The Committee are composed of market practitioners with technical expertise in disciplines such as trading, custody and investment management .The assessment is also supported by the FTSE Russell Policy Advisory Board, which represents the views of leading global investors who furnish FTSE Russell with expert insights into the realities of investing in equity markets across the globe.
Commenting on the development,NSE Plc Ag.Chief Executive Officer,Mr.David Wainaina said ‘‘We are delighted by the Re-classification which is a testament of the continued improvement in Kenya’s Equity market and a demonstration of the confidence international institutional investors are placing in our market”.
The FTSE Russell’s flagship market cap-weighted equity indexes are used by investors around the world to inform asset allocation decisions, support portfolio construction, and conduct risk and performance analysis. A broad offering of global and domestic equity market indexes-including the well-known FTSE Global Equity Index Series (FTSE GEIS),FTSE UK Index Series, and the Russell US Indexes-provides clients with a flexible ,comprehensive foundation for both the Global and local market investing needs.
