- The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) is on course entering into an agreement with the Financial Services Commission Mauritius (FSC).
- The agreement is set to strengthen technical cooperation between the two capital market regulators.
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Kenya will learn from it's peers as its walks the path of setting up the Nairobi International Financial Centre(NIFC).
The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) will partner with the Financial Services Commission Mauritius (FSC).
The agreement will strengthen technical cooperation between the two capital market regulators.
CMA Chief Executive Wycliffe Shamiah said the agreement presents an opportunity for the regulator to build its internal capacity through exposure to best practices that can support the capital markets in facilitating economic transformation.
“The partnership with FSC is underpinned by our strategic objective of enhancing strategic influence by partnering with peer regulators in Africa and beyond for mutual benefit,” said Shamiah.
The agreement will establish a mechanism for strengthening technical exchanges concerning financial regulation between both regulatory authorities.
This exchange is expected to increase knowledge and understanding of the laws and regulations in various fields such as financial instruments, market intermediaries, asset management, Fintech and other components of the financial innovation ecosystem.
The technical cooperation is expected to build internal capacity for both regulators through study tours, exchange programmes and secondments.
In February, the country suffered a setback in its quest to become an international financial hub after the CMA failed to achieve key performance indicators.
The authority cited the Covid-19 pandemic, waning investor confidence in the capital markets and low uptake of investment products and limited listings on the Nairobi Securities Exchange for the failure.
“This initiative reinforces the FSC’s commitment to ensure effective cross-border cooperation and information sharing with its African counterparts,” said Chief Executive, Dhanesswurnath Thakoor.
He said FSC will collaborate further with the CMA to reinforce compliance thereby upholding the resilience and sound repute of the financial services sector.
Mauritius’ financial services sector is one of the continent's strongest and most transparent, according to a United World Investment Report.
The country is a member of the World Alliance of International Financial Centers which is the top table of global financial jurisdictions.
Benchmarking with Mauritius will facilitate Kenya's economic transformation as adopted in the Capital Market Master Plan (2014-2023) which is aligned to Kenya’s Vision 2030 Economic Blueprint’.
National Treasury CS Ukur Yatani in June appointed a capital markets task force to guide the country in establishing the international financial centre .
The committee is tasked with the responsibility for oversight in the implementation of the Kenya Capital Markets Master Plan.
It is also tasked with facilitating its alignment with the establishment of Kenya as the heart of Capital Markets financing and investment in Africa and Nairobi as an International Financial Centre.