This archive report was first published on 5 May 2020.
As the coronavirus pandemic spread globally, investors at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) lost Ksh173 billion in paper wealth due to panic selling.
According to the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), listed firms also suffered a 14% decline in value last month.
Foreign investors dominated market activities in the period January to March, accounting for more than 80% of all transactions.
The NSE's market capitalization had been on a downward trend even before the pandemic, plummeting from a high of Ksh5.2 trillion in 2013 to Ksh2.2 trillion as of 2020.
The poor performance has been attributed to a bad economic environment, leading to a mass exodus of investors.
The market has also been experiencing a dry spell, with no major initial public offer in the last seven years.
As reported by the CMA, the value of listed firms at the bourse fell by 14.5% from Ksh2.36 trillion in March 2019 to Ksh2 trillion at the end of 2020.
