UK Trade Policy Minister opens Nairobi securities exchange trading session and calls for robust partnership between UK and Kenya financial sectors

Rt. Hon. Greg Hands said time was ripe for a more robust partnership between UK and Kenya financial sectors.
Trade in goods and services between UK and Kenya have grown from £500m in 2004 to £1.55B in 2017.
In 2016, Kenya received 96,404 tourists from UK according to Kenya Tourism Board statistics (KTB).

On Friday morning Nairobi securities exchange (NSE), held a special opening bell ceremony for visiting United Kingdom Minister of State for Trade Policy, Rt. Hon. Greg Hands.

An excited Rt. Hon. Greg Hands rang the bell on the trading floor to signify the start of the day’s trading session and said time was ripe for a more robust partnership between UK and Kenya financial sectors as a driver for growth and development.

“My mission here is to encourage more British investors to come to Kenya and actually let’s start doing a reverse as well of Kenyan investment coming to UK so overall it is an impressive tour out here and I congratulate everybody at Nairobi’s securities exchange on everything they are doing and I wish them good luck in their future product expansion” saidHon. Hands.

Hon. Greg further expressed satisfaction about NSE partnership with London Securities Exchange and said he hoped in the near future more product range (bonds, futures, options) as well as more innovative products like green bonds will be available for investors.

“The partnership between Nairobi Securities Exchange and London Securities Exchange is going well, I am impressed by the progress here not just in terms of equity listing but also the whole product base is expanding and that is that is really important, a strong financial market is really important for economic growth”

UK is Kenya’s fourth leading export destination and one of Kenya’s strongest markets for Horticulture and Tourism.

In 2016, Kenya received 96,404 tourists from UK according to Kenya Tourism Board statistics (KTB).

After the bell ceremony, Hon. Greg visited UK investor Flamingo Horticulture farm in Naivasha which employs over 6,000 locals.

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Trade in goods and services between UK and Kenya have grown from £500m in 2004 to £1.55B in 2017.

“Kenya is growing strongly at the moment and UK takes a very strong interest in Kenya’s economic growth and we got quite big programmes here we provide a host of government systems, also UK companies are very big here in Kenya one in ten Kenyans working in formal employment works in British companies so we are helping a lot and keen to continue this.”

Coming on the backdrop of relative calm in the country after President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition Chief, Raila Odinga buried their political hatchet and vowed to work together to unite the country coupled with conclusion of 2017 general elections which had spooked the markets, NSE CEO Geoffrey Odundo, said the markets were on a resurgence and 2018 looks very promising.

“This looks like a very promising year for Nairobi Securities Exchange and a lot of investors are very interested and are now holding a lot of collaborative discussions like this one with the UK government, yesterday we had a visit by Tony Elumelu, who is one of the biggest entrepreneurs in Africa and they are all looking for opportunities in Kenya and are all excited about what is going on in Kenya and want to know how can we use exchange as a medium for providing channels for fund raising and public offer so we are very happy.”

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NSE plays a vital role in the growth of Kenya’s economy by encouraging savings and investment, as well as helping local and international companies access cost-effective capital.

Founded in 1954, NSE has a six decade heritage in listing equity and debt securities and offers a world class trading facility for local and international investors looking to gain exposure to Kenya and Africa’s economic growth.

Hon. Greg also held bilateral talks with Kenya’s foreign affairs secretary Monica Juma and Adan Mohamed, secretary of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives, where he promised to facilitate best possible market access for Kenyan goods in Britain.

UK department for International trade and Kenya Investment Authority on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding during the launch of Kenya-UK Economic Development Forum aimed at enhancing trade and investment between the two nations.