This archive report was first published on 23 September 2019.
On September 23, 2019, the National Assembly's Finance and Planning Committee rejected a proposal by the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) and the Kenya Association of Stockbrokers and Investment Banks (KASIB) to extend tax amnesty to all firms planning to list on the NSE.
The proposal aimed to attract large firms to list on the exchange, but the committee argued that it would result in significant revenue losses for the government. According to the Treasury Finance Bill 2019, tax amnesty only applies to companies listing on the Growth and Enterprise Segment (GEMS), which is meant to encourage small and medium-sized companies to list on the segment.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange has struggled to attract new listings since June 2016, with the main market segment having no new listings by Initial Public Offer since 2015. Bank of Kigali entered the Nairobi Securities Exchange in 2018 by introduction.
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