The value of listed firms at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) fell by 14.5 per cent from Ksh2.36 trillion in March 2019 to Ksh2 trillion registered at the end of March this year.
This is according to the latest data from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), which indicates that investors have lost at least Ksh173 billion in the last two months due to Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
Foreign investors pulled out Ksh11.6 billion from the companies in February and March, with trade at the bourse hitting a 17-year low.
In February, foreign investors shed shares worth Ksh2.76 billion, as a precaution as the share values were set to slump.
In March, Investors shed Ksh9 billion worth of shares even as Kenya announced the first case of Covid-19.
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“The first quarter of 2020 recorded a net foreign portfolio outflow of Ksh11.1 billion compared to an inflow of Ksh601 million in the first quarter of 2019. This drastic change can be attributed to the panic trading brought about by Covid-19,” said CMA in the report.
The value of listed firms at NSE fell from Ksh5.3 trillion in 2015 to Ksh2 trillion, the worst value since July 2003.
14 per cent of the 67 listed companies on the NSE were either suspended from trading or delisted in the last two years alone.
Safaricom was the most actively traded counter, with Ksh15.7 billion worth of shares recorded in February and March, followed by KCB at Ksh5.1 billion and Equity Group that traded Ksh4.6 billion.
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