NSE profit falls 82pc on sluggish trade
The decline in trading at the Nairobi bourse has hurt earnings of the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) , which plunged 82 percent from Sh133 million as at June 2018 to Sh24 million in the first half of this year.
NSE says that bond turnover in the first six months was only Sh78 billion compared to Sh108 billion reported in the same period last year, limiting the firm’s ability to collect fees from transactions. Equity trading levies declined by 28 percent from Sh259 to Sh187 million in six months.
“The decline in equity turnover was a result of low domestic demand which saw increased asset allocation towards fixed income assets,” NSE chief executive Geoffrey Odundo said.
So bad is the activity at the equites market that the NSE counter is trading at Sh11.4 per share near its 52-week low of Sh10.6.
Japanese PM backs rollout of universal health cover
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said his country will support Kenya’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC) programme and the development of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Dongo Kundu in Mombasa.
In a statement issued following a meeting on the sidelines of the ongoing TICAD 7 conference in Yokohama, Mr Abe and President Uhuru Kenyatta said the move would fast-track the projects.
He singled out commencement of the SEZ and construction of the Likoni Gate bridge as priority areas.
President Kenyatta noted that in the last three years Kenya had seen a significant rise in the number of Japanese companies opening shops, which rose from 41 to 57.
“This is a success indicator of the growing bilateral ties between Tokyo and Nairobi,” Kenyatta said.
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