It was not immediately clear when Mr Kittony’s term was ending but the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has approved the extension of his contract by one year as part of decisions meant to ensure continuity at the self-listed entity.
The contract of the NSE’s chief executive Geoffrey Odundo –who was to leave at the end of last month— was also extended by the same period.
In October 2022, the board of the NSE submitted a request to the market regulator for an extension of terms for both Mr Odundo and Mr Kittony.
“Because at the point of request, the term of the current chairman was just about to lapse, the authority approved the extension of his term by one year,” CMA’s chief executive Wyckliffe Shamiah told Business Daily.
The extension of the terms of the bourse’s chairman and CEO comes amid plans by the government to list five State-owned firms, a move that could bring vibrancy to the equities market.
The NSE has gone for years without a substantial new listing, leaving the bourse to be dominated by Safaricom, banks and a few manufacturers in terms of profitability, dividends and market capitalisation.
Mr Odundo was first appointed to the helm of NSE on March 1, 2015, near the start of the long-term bear market that has gripped the bourse, influencing the performance of the company which earns fees on transactions.
The firm’s net profit fell to Sh132.5 million in the year ended December 2021 from Sh305.5 million in 2015.
Total income reduced to Sh714.2 million from Sh808.2 million over the same period.
The NSE, however, raised its dividend payout by a huge margin in 2021 when it made total distributions of Sh363.3 million comprising a special and ordinary dividend.
