Tony Mwangi, chief executive officer of Unaitas Savings and Credit Co-operative (Sacco), on August 24, 2012 at a conference organised for investment groups at the KICC, Nairobi said that the organisation was eyeing the Growth Enterprise Market Segment once it becomes operational. Photo/DIANA NGILA
What you need to know:
Tony Mwangi, chief executive officer of the Sacco, on Friday at a conference organised for investment groups said that the organisation was eyeing the segment (Growth Enterprise Market Segment) once it becomes operational.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) and the Capital Markets Authority have been planning to establish GEMS which will have easier listing requirements for firms to list and this is expected to encourage them to graduate to the main market segment board.
Mr Mwangi however said that regulators including the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) would need to give direction on how Saccos can trade their shares because membership for cooperatives, is normally open at all times so long as a person qualifies.
Unaitas Savings and Credit Co-operative (Sacco) plans to list its shares on the new segment that the Nairobi bourse and the capital markets regulator are establishing.
Tony Mwangi, chief executive officer of the Sacco, on Friday at a conference organised for investment groups - otherwise known as chamas - said that the organisation was eyeing the segment once it becomes operational.
“I know that there is an SME alternative segment at the NSE that is being established and if it comes to be, we will be the first to go for it,” said Mr Mwangi.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) and the Capital Markets Authority have been planning to establish the Growth Enterprise Market Segment (GEMS) which will have easier listing requirements for firms to list and this is expected to encourage them to graduate to the main market segment board.
Mr Mwangi however said that regulators including the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) would need to give direction on how Saccos can trade their shares because membership for cooperatives, is normally open at all times so long as a person qualifies.
“We however have a challenge in the cooperative sector because shares are unlimited and you cannot get into such markets if you cannot limit the shares. Any person can buy shares (in Saccos) so long as you qualify. We have to find a way to limit so that investors can unlock their investment,” he said.
If Saccos are allowed to list their shares in their current state, it would mean that an investor would be able to buy shares at the stock market and also from the Sacco itself which may lead to two different share prices.
Deposit taking Saccos, could however grow their capital and invest in infrastructure to a point where they can meet banking regulations, convert to a commercial lender regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya and then list their shares at the stock exchange.
Saccos which are regulated by SASRA have become very active in recruiting new members who will be allowed to buy shares to fund growth plans.
Unaitas rebranded this year a few months before the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) approved its disclosure document for a share sale that it had started at the beginning of October 2010 running through December the same year.
The market regulator however stopped the share sale because it was directed at the entire public and not to members only.
