Treasury secretary Henry Rotich. FILE PHOTO | NMG
The Nairobi International Financial Centre (NIFC), a key part of
the plan to model Kenya's capital as a financial district in line with
existing hubs such as London, Dubai and Hong Kong, will be launched
later this year.
This is according to Treasury Cabinet
Secretary Henry Rotich who said the centre will make Nairobi more
globally competitive in the financial services sector.
He
was speaking Wednesday during the launch of the Capital Markets
Authority's (CMA) strategic plan 2018-2023 at the Kenyatta International
Convention Centre.
However, Mr Rotich did not specify the exact date the centre will be launched or become fully operational.
President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2016 signed the NIFC Bill into law
that established a legal framework for the Nairobi Financial Centre
Authority. The State corporation will be responsible for attracting
firms and investors to the hub.
The government hopes
that turning the capital into a regional financial centre will help the
country attract more foreign direct investment (FDI).
Review listing rules
The Treasury CS also urged the markets regulator to evaluate its regulatory system in order to end the current listings drought.
"To encourage new listing by local firms, CMA should review the regulatory framework," Mr Rotich said today.
The
Paul Muthaura-led Authority has been courting private equity (PE)
companies as it seeks to increase the number of firms trading at the
Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE)
.
Mr
Rotich also touched on the subject of money laundering, saying a
multi-agency approach between the CMA and other State organs was
laudable.
"Kenya cannot to have its reputation tarnished by being associated with money laundering and financing of terrorism," he said.
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