The Capital Markets Authority is mandated under the Capital Markets Act to develop all aspects of the capital markets with particular emphasis on the removal of impediments to and the creation of incentives for, longer term investments in productive enterprises.
As part of the initiatives towards development of the capital markets, the Authority with the support of the World Bank is in the final stages of developing the Capital Markets (Securities Lending and Borrowing and Short Selling) Regulations, 2016 to enable securities lending and borrowing in the capital markets.
Securities lending and borrowing is the temporary transfer of securities from one party to another with a simultaneous formal agreement to return the securities at a pre-agreed price either on demand or at an agreed date in future. This, as a mechanism for covered short selling, is intended to increase overall market liquidity and flexibility of financing by increasing the volume of securities potentially available for trading and further increases depth and efficiency in the capital markets through price discovery.
In order to ensure that the proposed legal framework meets the needs of the market, the Authority has held several consultative meetings with key stakeholders to inform the development of the draft Regulations.
The Authority wishes to invite the general public and stakeholders to submit comments on the said Regulations which can be accessed on the Capital Markets Authority website:– www.cma.or.ke.
