(Reuters) – Kenya has offered Ethiopian companies a chance to raise funds and trade their shares on the Nairobi bourse in a move that could give them access to capital without compromising Addis Ababa’s closed economy policy.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange plays a key role in the region by dual-listing shares of companies already listed in neighbouring Uganda. In 2012 the bourse offered to help start a Somali stock exchange but the plan never materialised.
“Kenya stands ready to begin consultations for the regulations and guidelines that would allow Ethiopian companies to raise investment capital and trade at our Nairobi Securities Exchange,” President Uhuru Kenyatta told a joint meeting of executives from both nations in the Ethiopian capital.
Ethiopia, whose largest firms like Ethio Telecom and Ethiopian Airlines are owned by the state, is widely coveted by regional firms because it has one of Africa’s fastest growing economies and a large consumer base of more than 80 million people. Continue reading on Reuters …