Thursday, October 12, 2023 – Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Governor Kamau Thugge has indirectly admitted that the economy is in ruins thanks to President William Ruto and his insatiable appetite for more taxes.
Thugge, in a new report by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) on the economic stability of the country, revealed that more foreign investors are leaving the country.
In its September Kenya Financial Stability Report, CBK detailed the trend of investors leaving the country was witnessed from 2022 all the way to the first half of 2023.
CBK cited investor activity at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) which indicated that foreigners were selling their shares more in comparison to purchasing shares.
For instance, in March 2023, close to Ksh15 billion shares were sold in comparison with those that were purchased which stood at Ksh5 billion.
However, the number of shares sold in June 2023 dropped to below Ksh5 billion, approximately the same amount of investments made by foreigners.
In 2022, foreign investors sold (outflow) shares valued at Ksh63.2 billion against Ksh38.8 billion purchases (inflow) in 2022, leading to a net outflow of Ksh 24.4 billion.
This trend was attributed to the current tough economic times contributed by the pandemic and government policies which include increasing taxes.
On the other hand, competition from imported goods was also noted as a key hindrance to local companies especially those in the manufacturing industry making the sector unattractive for investments.
As a consequence of the exit, depreciation of the shilling was also being witnessed. Currently, the dollar is exchanged at Ksh149.
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