According to the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Treasury Dr Kamau Thuge, the government has commissioned a study on a potential merger of Central Depository & Settlement Corporation and Central Bank of Kenya depositories.
Speaking during the unveiling of CDSC’s new brand in Nairobi, Kamau said this will enable CDSC to hold government securities and manage all the secondary activities on behalf of the government, a role currently being handled by the Central Bank. He assured stakeholders that the systems and infrastructure put in place by CDSC are robust and enough to handle the assignment.
The CDSC began operations in 2004 and its main task was to automate the clearing and settlement of transactions on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). The automation has enabled the NSE market turnover to increase from Ksh 15.3 billion in 2003 to Ksh 209.4 billion as at the end of 2015. Market Capitalization also grew from Ksh 259 billion in 2003 to a record Ksh 2.7 trillion in early 2015. Over this time, the market has witnessed major listings which include KenGen and Safaricom.
CDSC CEO Rose Mambo also said it will in April 2017 launch a new trading platform which will enable trades on the Nairobi Securities Exchange to be settled in a day as opposed to the current system which takes 3 trading days. She said the new system will be integrated with Nigeria’s depository to enable investors to invest with ease across the two countries. However, she noted they are seeking regulatory approval from the relevant authorities before it goes live.
On M-Akiba
The PS also noted that they are in advanced stage of launching M-Akiba before the end of the year. The platform will enable the ordinary kenyan to invest in government bonds for as little as Ksh 3000. CDSC will be very critical in this process as it will tasked to ensure smooth registration by the investors, clearing and settlement.
