Kenyan bourse capitalization hits all-time high of 28 bln USD

NAIROBI, March 26 (Xinhua) -- The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) market capitalization has hit an all-time high of 28.1 billion U.S. dollars, boosted by surge in prices of Safaricom and bank stocks.

The indicator, which measures investors' wealth, stood at 28.1 billion dollars on Monday, having risen from 28 billion dollars at the end of last week on Friday.

Safaricom, Kenya's leading telecom, leads the list of stocks whose prices have increased significantly in the last weeks, boosting the index.

The stock hit an all-time high of 0.31 dollars on Friday last week and held firm on Monday, increasing its capitalization at the bourse by 891 million dollars in five days of trading. The firm's capitalization stands at 12 billion dollars following the surge.

There has been increased demand of the stock by foreign investors pushing up demand as they return to the market following exit in the first two months of the year.

In the banking sector, Equity Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), Cooperative Bank, and NIC Bank are stocks whose prices have surged to stand at between two and four-year high.

Equity Bank and KCB have risen to trade at over 0.50 dollars per share from 0.35 dollars in January thanks to increased demand following bank's recent announcement of financial results.

Analysts have attributed the surge in stocks prices and consequently market capitalization to the prevailing political stability in the country following talks between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his rival in last year's polls Raila Odinga.

Market capitalization fell to less than 20 billion dollars in mid-2016 as stock prices tumbled and has been on a slow but steady climb. Since the start of the year, the investors' wealth has risen by about 2 billion dollars. Enditem