6 NSE-listed firms scout for deals at London summit

Nairobi Securities Exchange chief executive officer Geoffrey Odundo (right) with other executives during the 2017 EFG Hermes conference. FILE PHOTO | NMG 

By PATRICK ALUSHULA

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Summary

• The conference presents an opportunity for investors and fund managers representing $12 trillion in aggregate assets under management to directly meet senior executives from listed companies from diverse sectors and markets across the world.
• The six companies in attendance include Safaricom, KCB Group, Equity Bank, Centum, Kenol Kobil and WPP Scangroup.

Six Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE)-listed firms are in the United Kingdom for the 8th annual EFG Hermes London Conference that concludes today with top executives expected to hold crucial talks with global investors.

The conference presents an opportunity for investors and fund managers representing $12 trillion in aggregate assets under management to directly meet senior executives from listed companies from diverse sectors and markets across the world.

The six companies in attendance include Safaricom, KCB Group

, Equity Bank , Centum , Kenol Kobil and WPP Scangroup

Their top executives are expected to meet global investors to share insights and discuss investment opportunities given the historically high foreign investor participation on the NSE.

Data from the latest Capital Markets Authority (CMA) market soundness report shows that foreigners were commanding 68.77 per cent of the equity turnover for three months to June 2018 compared to 50.98 per cent in the first quarter of the year.

Kenyan firms are part of the 327 institutional investors and 151 listed companies from Middle East North Africa and frontier emerging markets (FEMs) investors on the mission to close on trade deals with global fund managers drawn from 177 institutions.

According to EFG Hermes Holding Group CEO Karim Awad, the conference provides a platform to bridge the gap between global capital and opportunities in high-growth markets.

“The conference offers a rare forum for active fund managers to gain on-the-ground insights and intelligence from C-suite executives about how increased transparency, tougher regulations and new technologies are reshaping FEM investments in 2018,” said Mr Awad.

Other 11 companies from Africa attending the conference are from Nigeria, Uganda, Mauritius and Botswana.

According to Mohamed Ebeid, a co-CEO of the Investment Bank at EFG Hermes, FEMs are witnessing economic modernisation and the opening-up of their markets through government-led policy reforms to transition from commodity-dependent to more diversified economies.

“The EFG Hermes London Conference is an exclusive opportunity for them to deepen their connections with and knowledge of these markets through first-hand encounters with C-suite executives representing multiple industries and sectors across FEM,” he said.