The Capital Markets Authority has launched a nine-year master plan to establish Kenya as a hub for international financial services. Acting Capital Markets chairman Paul Ngugi says it would turn the capital markets into the main driver of Vision 2030, the county’s long-term economic roadmap.
“We remain conscious that the market is yet to achieve the critical mass necessary and sufficient to fund the delivery of Vision 2030,” said Mr Ngugi. “The CMA Board engaged stakeholders to brainstorm on what inhibits our market from moving to the next level and resulted in the development of the Capital Markets Master Plan.”
The master plan has three pillars – social development and economic transformation, the infrastructure and the legal and regulatory framework. To encourage social and economic development, the plan has highlighted stimulating devolution as well as leveraging on an integrated East African Markets as key areas of focus.
And to streamline the legal and regulatory environment, the plan recommends a closer working relation with competition and consumer protection authorities that have in the past slowed the pace of investment in the market as they adjudicate on cases.
By 2023, the plan envisions that 30% of county financing should be done through the market. Currently county development is entirely funded by the exchequer. Similarly, it proposes to triple the percent of infrastructure investment financed through equity, bonds and private equity from today’s Sh300 billion to Sh900 billion.
“We remain confident that the milestones already achieved will genuinely be just the beginning as we strive forward over the coming years,” read a statement from the chairman.
The launch was presided over by the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich.
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