This archive report was first published on 6 September 2021.
Investors on the Nairobi Securities Exchange have lost Sh146 billion in paper wealth over the last two weeks as demand for stocks slumped amid shifting preference for the government's tax-free infrastructure bond.
According to data, the NSE market capitalisation declined from a high of Sh2.93 trillion mid-August to Sh2.78 trillion at the close of trading on Monday, following a seven-day consecutive slump.
The top five blue-chip counters, which control 80 percent of the market, lost a combined Sh139.8 billion in paper wealth.
The Safaricom counter saw the biggest loss at Sh112.1 billion, followed by Equity Bank's Sh14.3 billion.
Market analysts say that the decline has coincided with the issuance of the Sh75 billion 21-year infrastructure bond floated on August 23, and whose sale ends today.
"We have been talking to clients and what we saw was a build-up of interest towards the IFB [infrastructure bond] where investors for the past few weeks have been lining up to position bids. That has been the main focus," said Eric Musau, head of research at Standard Investment Bank.
