Companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange will now be required to develop and submit to the regulator a forward-looking calendar of corporate announcements, including release of financial statements and dividend payment dates.
The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) and NSE have issued a joint circular to all listed firms asking them to start preparing and submitting forward-looking event calendars as part of the initiative to enhance transparency and improve communication between the companies and investors.
“All issuers are now required to develop and submit a forward-looking calendar of corporate announcements. This calendar should detail all upcoming corporate events, along with their tentative dates,” reads the circular, co-signed by CMA boss Wyckliffe Shamiah and NSE chief executive Frank Mwiti.
“The aim is to provide investors with a clearer view of forthcoming corporate actions, enabling them to make more informed decisions and contributing to greater market predictability and stability.”
The two have directed all the listed firms to submit their calendars for the remainder of this year by September 16, and the calendar for 2025 by January 10.
The NSE and CMA say that while they recognise that circumstances may necessitate changes to these dates or event details, companies will be expected to promptly update them with the revised information so that the market remains informed with the most current and up-to-date information.
“Additionally, we strongly encourage companies to make this calendar publicly available through their websites and other communication channels as well,” added the circular.
The changes mean that current and prospective shareholders will be kept informed on all the crucial dates of the listed firms, presenting them with an opportunity to make informed decisions.
However, by CMA and NSE not making it mandatory for the firms to publish this on their websites, shareholders may still miss out crucial scheduled dates such as results announcements —many of which impact share price movements.
The NSE introduced day trading on November 22, 2022, allowing investors to buy and sell shares in any company within a single trading day. This would allow them to profit from intraday price movements triggered by events like profit announcements or acquisition bids.
The bourse offered a discounted levy of 0.114 percent on the second leg of such a transaction compared to the usual 0.12 percent as it sought to promote the uptake.
In trading, a leg is a single position taken in multiple parts trading. For example, the first leg is when one buys shares. The second leg is when the same shares are sold.
