The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has declined Kenya Airways’ request to extend the suspension of its shares from trading, which has been in place since July 2020. 

The suspension, which was originally implemented owing to the airline’s myriad of challenges will end on January 5, 2025, allowing KQ shares to resume trading on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).

In a letter addressed to Kenya Airways’ CEO, Allan Kilavuka, CMA noted significant improvements in the airline’s financial performance and acknowledged ongoing efforts to secure a strategic equity partner, which could lead to a major corporate restructuring.

However, CMA emphasized that the conditions for extending the suspension, as outlined under the Capital Markets regulations, were no longer applicable.

“The justification provided does not satisfy the regulatory requirements for continued suspension under the grounds outlined in Regulation 73(2) of the Regulations,” read the letter by CMA CEO Wyckliffe Shamiah in part.

It added that the decision comes after the National Aviation Management Bill 2020, a key factor in the initial suspension, was withdrawn.

Additionally, CMA found that there was no indication that the airline would face statutory management, receivership, or liquidation, nor was there substantial evidence of a major restructuring that would warrant a further delay in trading.

According to Shamiah, the airline, which has been suspended from trading for more than four years, now faces the prospect of returning to the market with a renewed outlook.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange has been instructed to lift the suspension of Kenya Airways shares effective January 5, 2025.

Investors who have been unable to trade the airline’s stocks during this period will now be able to buy and sell shares once the trading resumes.

This move is expected to have significant implications for Kenya Airways’ stock performance and investor confidence in the airline’s future prospects.