CFC Stanbic Corporate and Investment Banking Regional Head Mike Blade (right), Richard Willis , Director Markit Group (centre) and Jibran Qureishi , Economist, Global Market during the launch of Kenya purchasing managers’ index
CFC Stanbic and Markit have launched a monthly survey of business conditions in the Kenyan private sector.
The index has been on trial since january 2014 and is expected to provide the earliest most accurate and comprehensive suite of economic indicators in the country. These indicators are expected to help concerned parties make informed decisions.
The latest figures (February 2015) show that the Kenyan private sector output increased at a faster rate in February, mirroring the overall improvement in business conditions.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) is based on data compiled from monthly replies to questionnaires sent to purchasing executives in approximately 400 private sector companies, which have been carefully selected to accurately represent the true structure of the Kenyan economy.
The panel is stratified by Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) group, based on industry contribution to GDP.
Survey responses reflect the change, if any, in the current month compared to the previous month based on data collected mid-month. For each of the indicators the ‘Report’ shows the percentage reporting each response, the net difference between the number of higher/better responses and lower/worse responses, and the ‘diffusion’ index. This index is the sum of the positive responses plus a half of those responding ‘the same’.