On 11 May 2020, the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) and industry stakeholders made a significant contribution to the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic by donating Ksh30 million to the Covid-19 Emergency Response Fund.
The donation was led by the CMA Board Chairman, Mr. James Ndegwa, who presented the funds to the Board Chairperson, Mrs Jane Karuku. The contributions were made through the Capital Markets Covid-19 Fund, which has received donations from various industry players.
Some of the notable contributors include the CMA, which donated Ksh20 million, while the CMA Board and staff committed to a voluntary contribution of Ksh781,706, with Ksh268,300 already remitted. Other contributors include the Nairobi Securities Exchange (Ksh2 million), Central Depository and Settlement Corporation (Ksh1 million), and several other industry players.
The donation comes on the back of a raft of measures unveiled by the industry to ensure business continuity in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. The measures include ensuring the operational resilience of market infrastructure, the operational capability of market intermediaries, and the continued flow of information to the market.
Key outcomes of the engagements include issuing guidance to postpone Annual General Meetings (AGMs) in response to the Government's ban on all public gatherings, waiving the need for listed companies and market intermediaries to publish their financials in newspapers, and providing flexibility to use websites and social media channels instead.
