Citi ranks NSE best frontier stock market

• The stock market has gained 36 per cent since the beginning of the year, registering the best performance to beat Nigeria which came in second with a 28 per cent return while Argentina took last position with a 48 per cent negative return.
• The Citi report titled Frontier Markets Panorama: Where Would You Rather Be? focused on 25 frontier markets in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

Kenya has emerged as the best frontier market in a report released by analysts at banking conglomerate, Citi.

The stock market has gained 36 per cent since the beginning of the year, registering the best performance to beat Nigeria which came in second with a 28 per cent return while Argentina took last position with a 48 per cent negative return.

The Citi report titled Frontier Markets Panorama: Where Would You Rather Be? focused on 25 frontier markets in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

The report said that Kenya’s top spot was not expected in light of the upcoming general election and a tough macro-economic environment.

The NSE 20 share index has risen by about 500 points between January and June this year to 3,703.94 points from 3,212.86 points.

‘‘Shilling stability which hit an all-time low of Sh107 to the dollar in 2011, and the high interest rates are challenges the region’s biggest economy faces,’’ said Citi.