Corporate Governance takes New Twist Amidst Company Turmoil

Bears dictated the pace for the day as all benchmark indicators nosedived into the red territory. The NSE All share index slide by 0.08% to close at 144.28 points while the NSE-20 index followed suit, recording a 0.41% dip to close at 3986.28 points.

Market capitalization declined by 0.08% to close at KES 2.029 trillion whilst equity turnover shrank by 32.79% to close at KES 0.433 billion. Market breadth, a measure of the market performance indicated that the market conditions had deteriorated; with the number of stocks that declined, 21, outweighing the number of stocks that advanced, 12.

Kenya Commercial Bank Ltd (NSE: KCB) chief, Joshua Oigara was the second to state his worth (KES 220 million), a day after Safaricom’s Bob Collymore declared his wealth (KES 277 million). This comes as the private sector leads in the fight against corruption by promoting greater transparency. At best, companies say how many shares executives hold in their own company directly and deliberately fail to show the entirety of those holdings. This move is poised to boost investor confidence in the listed entities as well as aid in combatting corruption which has previously led to mismanagement of funds in companies such as Mumias Sugar Ltd (NSE: MSC) and Uchumi Supermarkets Ltd (NSE: UCHM).

Equity Market Highlights

Equity Group Holdings Ltd (NSE: EQTY) was the most actively traded stock accounting for 32.78% of the total market activity. East African Breweries Ltd (NSE: EABL) closed in second, accounting for 21.50% of the days traded value.

Atlas Development & Support Services Ltd (NSE: ADSS) capped the gainers’ chart with a price appreciation of 7.69% to close the day at KES 2.10. Diamond Trust Bank Kenya Ltd (NSE: DTB) climbed up 4.19%, to close the day as the second best gainer at KES 199.00.

Standard Group Ltd (NSE: SGL) was the top laggard of the day, declining by 8.66% to KES 29.00. Trans-Century Ltd (NSE: TCL) fell behind, sliding by 7.06% to KES 7.90 as investors continued offloading their shares ahead of the portended cash call.