Standard Group Makes History At the NSE

Mr Robin Sewell, Chairman of the Standard Group Limited, Mr Paul Melly, Deputy Chairman and Director Strategy Adviser at Standard Group, members of the board of directors of the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) and distinguished guests, it gives me great pleasure to witness with you a first in Kenya's capital markets: The graduation of a company listed on the Alternative Investment Market Segment (Aims) to listing on the Main Investment Market Segment (Mims).

Today the shares of Standard Group Limited will commence trading on Mims following the transfer of its listing on Aims to Mims after having met the capitalisation and net asset requirements for Mims.

The move by the Standard Group also highlights the fact that the Aims market segment, contrary to popular belief, is not a lesser market, but is actually a viable segment for fast growing companies, which temporarily do not have the higher capitalisation and net assets requirements of the main market.

Companies seeking to raise capital via equity listing on the market, but who currently do not meet the criteria for Mims can, therefore, take note that a listing on Aims is not derogatory and that, indeed, it is possible to graduate to Mims as the company continues to grow.

Last year, strong corporate earnings, high money market liquidity and low interest rates supported activity in the securities market. The NSE 20-Share Index gained 42.01 per cent last year, rising from 3973.04 points to 5645.65 points. In the same period, market capitalisation rose 71.23 per cent, rising from Sh462.48 billion to Sh791.91 billion.

As a listed entity, the Standard Group certainly benefited from the activity at the market and this is one of the reasons we are here today. This year, the Nairobi Stock Exchange will continue to highlight the accessibility of Kenya's capital markets to State-owned and private companies.

The flexibility, tenure and benefits of seeking capital via listing of securities on the NSE and the fiscal and policy incentives that the Government has granted over the years to encourage companies to raise capital using domestic capital markets are issues we will continue to highlight.

We will explore means to revamp the alternative market segment to make it even more viable as a platform for raising capital for the fast growing small and medium enterprises component of the economy.

By increasing the quantity and productivity of investment, by enabling local enterprises raise finance, by stimulating competition in the financial sector and by improving corporate governance, well-established capital markets can hasten the mobilisation of domestic and foreign capital and accelerate a country's economic development.

We intend to play our role in precipitating the achievement of the Government's Kenya Vision 2030. Once again, I congratulate the board and management of Standard Group Limited for being the first to achieve the milestone of migrating from the Aims to the Mims.

The writer is the chairman of the Nairobi Stock Exchange