EA governments urged to use Stock Market to raise capital

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The East African governments have been urged to use the Stock Exchanges to raise capital especially through issuance of large Initial Public Offers (IPOs) that can only come from the public sector.

Geoffrey Odundo, the CEO for the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), said there is need for collaboration between the East Africa governments and the Exchanges.

“Governments needs to use Exchanges to raise capital. There is opportunity and liquidity to support those IPOs,” he said during the celebration to mark the 20 years of existence of the Uganda Securities Exchange in Kampala on April 06.

“The Exchanges need to work with the regulators and the government to ensure regional exchanges become the engine of driving alternative source of income.”

Deputy Governor, Bank of Uganda, Louis Kasekende said there’s need to carry out research into the obstacles that hinder companies from listing so that possible solutions can be found. USEs Market Capitalization currently stands at US$6billion compared to NSE’s US$ 28.2billion.