The Kenya financial market has been ranked third with a score of 65 percent in Africa in the second edition of the Absa Financial Markets Index (AFMI).
This is an improvement from fifth place in the first edition attributed to ease of foreign exchange access where it ranked first and third in its ability to enforce financial agreements, clarity on property rights and compatibility with international standards.
South Africa, with a score of 93 percent, was declared the most advanced market in Africa.
According to the report, areas of improvement for Kenya include limited product diversity, relatively low pension assets per capita and declining export market share.
In the East African region, Uganda, at 10th position, ranks as the second-most progressive market after Kenya with a score of 50 percent, due to its stable performance with good foreign exchange access but low local investor capacity.
It is followed by Rwanda, with a score of 49 percent which dropped three positions to position 11 due to discrepancies between strong official rules on transparency and reality of implementation. Tanzania (43 percent) also dropped four positions to 15th due to lack of capacity of local investors.
The survey by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) was commissioned by Absa Group in the course of last year and examined 20 African markets, up from 17 the previous year, extending coverage to three additional countries – Angola, Cameroon, and Senegal.
The report assesses progress and potential across six key areas namely: market depth; access to foreign exchange; market transparency, tax and regulatory environment; macroeconomic opportunity; and the legality and enforceability of standard financial markets master agreements.
