Kenya’s stock market is heading for its first annual net foreign investor inflows since 2019 after a multibillion-shilling transaction involving Aliko Dangote’s investment in Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) reversed months of foreign capital withdrawals.
Foreign investors recorded net purchases of KSh38.3 billion on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) in October, ending nine consecutive months of net selling. The turnaround was largely driven by a block trade involving KPC on October 19, which accounted for KSh42.47 billion in reported net foreign purchases, according to The Kenyan Wall Street Journal.
Read also: Dangote explores up to $15bn investment in Egypt, targets refining, petrochemicals
The transaction pushed cumulative foreign inflows to KSh22.61 billion in the first 10 months of 2026, raising the prospect that the exchange could end six consecutive years of annual net outflows.
Dangote acquired about 24.76 percent of KPC through the purchase of 4.5 billion shares valued at KSh42.5 billion, becoming the company’s largest private shareholder. The deal has also drawn renewed investor attention to the pipeline operator’s role in transporting petroleum products across East Africa.
KPC’s share price has climbed sharply since the transaction. The stock rose 9.96 percent to a record KSh13.80 on Wednesday, extending its gains to five consecutive trading sessions and bringing its total increase during the rally to 52.32 percent.
The rally has lifted KPC’s market capitalisation to KSh250.79 billion, an increase of KSh86.14 billion, or about $662.6 million. It has also made the company the fourth most valuable stock on the NSE, moving it ahead of established lenders and consumer businesses, including Co-operative Bank of Kenya, East African Breweries and Absa Bank Kenya.
Read also: Kenya Pipeline shares jump 53% after Dangote’s stake purchase
However, the improvement in foreign investor flows remains heavily dependent on the KPC transaction. Without the October 19 block trade, foreign investors would have recorded net outflows of KSh19.86 billion in the first 10 months of the year, suggesting that wider participation by international investors has yet to recover.
The distinction is important because the October figures do not necessarily signal a broad return of foreign capital to Kenyan equities. Rather, they show how a single large transaction can reshape market-wide investment data, particularly in exchanges where trading activity is concentrated in a relatively small number of major deals.
Read also: Dangote stake makes Kenya Pipeline fourth most valuable firm on NSE
The NSE has experienced sustained foreign investor withdrawals over the past six years, limiting international participation in the market. If the positive balance holds through December, 2026 would mark the exchange’s first year of net foreign inflows since 2019, reversing a prolonged period of capital outflows.
Faith Omoboye is a foreign affairs correspondent with background in History and International relations. Her work focuses on African politics, diplomacy, and global governance.
