NSE Loses 179 Billion Shillings in One Week, A Reason to Worry?

Nairobi Securities Exchange lost 179 billion shillings last week leaving investors worried of what might befall them next.

The loss has been attributed to the uncertainties that ruled the country and the markets in general over the new tax measures that had been proposed by the government.

The tax measures have since been signed into law by President Uhuru Kenya, officially rolling out such taxes as 8 percent VAT on petroleum products, 15 percent on phone calls and mobile data among others.

The loss has also been attributed to the outflows by foreign investors, triggered by the same uncertainties over taxes.

At the end of last week, total NSE loss stood at 747 billion shillings compared to the 2.896 trillion shillings in April’s peak and 2.149 trillion shillings recorded last Friday.

The markets have also been affected by the differences between the country and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after the Treasury failed to complete two reviews of the program that ended on September 14th.

The Shilling

During the week, the Kenya Shilling appreciated by 0.4 percent against the US Dollar to close at 100.8 shillings to the dollar from 101.2 shillings the previous week.

The appreciation was mainly driven by reduced dollar demand from importers as well as recovery from the uncertainties regarding the IMF stand-by arrangement that was there the previous week.

The Kenya Shilling has appreciated by 1.9 percent year to date and in Cytonn Investment’s view the shilling should remain relatively stable against the dollar in the short term, pegging this on the narrowing of the current account deficit to 5.8 percent in the 12-months to June 2018, from 6.3 percent in March 2018, attributed to improved agriculture exports, and lower capital goods imports following the completion of Phase I of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project.