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2:17
Rules for Kenya Internet Trading
» bankelele Rules for Kenya Internet Trading -
Urban Inflation Index September 2009
» bankelele Urban Inflation Index September 2009 -
Salute to Kenyan Stockbrokers Part I
» bankelele Salute to Kenyan Stockbrokers Part I
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19:47
Traffic Management in Nairobi
» Kenya Imagine Yesterday the City Council of Nairobi unveiled a new set of rules to help manage the traffic flow in and out of Nairobi that left me wondering if the council's measures would help with traffic congestion. Planning seems to have taken a back seat when it comes to looking at how some of these decisions impact on the residents of Nairobi, people whom the Council should strive to serve. I say this because, how do you terminate commuter transport into town so far away? What are the options and where are the options?
Read more from Odhiambo Oketch here.
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KPLC Kenya Power Rationing: Winners & Losers
» bankelele KPLC Kenya Power Rationing: Winners & Losers -
Shaking up the Nairobi Investment Scene
» bankelele 
Knocking Off Rogue Brokers
The Kenya Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has published new regulations that could knock off customer confidence in any small stockbroker still standing at the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) as they have now become law.
Changes include:
- Sets minimum share capital for stockbrokers at Kshs. 50 million (~$650,000) and investment banks at 250 million (~$3.25 million) some stockbroker are investment banks in name only name
- Agents may work for one stockbroker only and may not handles client cash
- They must use International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)for reporting
- They must publish audited accounts and ½ year un-audited accounts in newspapers and also dispaly the same in their branches so by August 09 we should get a clearer picture of who's up or down
- They must obtain indemnity insurance
- They are to notify the CMA before appointment of executives, directors, and auditors as well as prior to branch openings/closing
Some of the proposal also affects investment funds, fund managers, and pension schemes. They were first proposed two months ago for public review and borrow a bit form existing central banks laws and are much harsher than when first formulated.
Other losers retail investors who lost their money in collapsed brokers (Nyaga, Discount, Francis Thuo etc.), it limits their potential compensation to just 50,000 shillings ($~650)
Winners - newspapers who will see an increase in quarterly advertisements from stockbrokers, investment banks, investment funds, fund managers, and pensions schemes.
- insurance companies (Stockbrokers and investment banks are to obtain professional indemnity insurance worth 5 times their daily average turnover) -
Real Estate Moment
» bankelele a series of real estate pieces
Real Estate Paradox: was with a real estate developer who’s looking to set up even more projects over the weekend; he talked about a paradox where real estate rental prices are dropping, while house prices continue to rise. Note: I’ve not seen signs of rental drops, but this probably applies to the developer’s current financial outlook when choosing to build for sale or to rent in Nairobi today
NSSF the Kenya National Social Security Fund NSSF continued a trend started last year of publishing their financial accounts. For the year to June 30 2008, they had of total assets of Kshs. 87.53 billion (~$1.1 billion), partially comprising 49% equity investments (43.7 billion), treasury bills & bonds (11.2 billion), and land & building 24% (20.97 billion) which was down from 29% the year before.
While NSSF’s investment income of Kshs. 5 billion was a 25% increase from the year before, poor returns in local shares at the Nairobi stock exchange have hit pension, fund, and insurance schemes leading them to seek greater returns and safety by investing in real estate. Yet the NSSF, because of its past association when it was a political cash cow and got saddled with unpalatable properties, is going against the popular grain, but has no choice even as it faces as long struggle to be viable safety net for retired workers.
Water shortage: dry water pipes in some Nairobi estates have been a pain to residents in some parts of town who have to buy water from vendors. Many construction sites even have to ferry in all the water they need by lorry seems to be a good business idea to have a water lorry now
Bricks & Banks: The new Equity Bank headquarters are now up in Upper Hill and UAP Insurance will soon be putting up a building in the area. On the Westland’s side its Southern Credit Bank and Standard Chartered Africa with new buildings about to be completed.
Cement & inflation: I’ve added retail cement prices to the inflation index starting with a 50 kilo bag of bamburi cement at 780 shillings (~$10).
S&L Gone: Savings & Loan is no more after KCB shareholders absorbed the subsidiary within the group structure as a cost saving measure. There was a nice (offline) article by Carol Musyoka in the Business Daily and she highlighted that S&L’s rapid growth was funded, not by deposits, but by funds drawn from parent KCB and wondered what return this was to KCB shareholders
Goodwill barrier: goodwill is a fee demanded by business owners from business tenants, shop owners etc. It’s a strange phenomenon; the fee, often as much a year’s rent, is paid before the building is even put up for the shop-tenant to secure space in the building. Another fee is paid each time a shop moves in or out of the building. This exorbitant business expense has put off many start ups and small business owners from renting or setting up shop in downtown Nairobi.
More articles on the goodwill phenomenon from Ghana, a Kenya forum and the Standard -
How Safaricom can adapt Vodafone's investor relations
» bankelele 
old safaricom logo incorporating vodafone
Safaricom have done a great job in terms of dealing with investor relations since its listing; they have also said there won’t be any SWAG for shareholders at their August annual general meeting (AGM).
But there are things that Vodafone can do that can enhance shareholder value beyond giving mere t-shirts and lunch boxes. As 40% owner of Safaricom, Vodafone can drive many things about investor relations. Consider that while Safaricom is considered to have too large a register with 831,000 owners, Vodafone is not too different with 551,000 shareholders - 440,000 who own less than 1,000 shares, and just 46% presumed to reside outside the UK. Despite the numbers, the Chairman's letter invites as many shareholders to attend the meeting and participate (and probably ward of any hostile resolutions)
So here are 10 things Safaricom borrow from Vodafone to enhance shareholder relations in lieu of SWAG:
1.Have an enhanced agenda and promote shareholder participation in management. Many NSE companies do the bare minimum asking shareholders to adopt accounts, approve auditors and re-elect 1/3 of directors – that means an AGM can take 15 minutes which leaves the floor open for the nonsense questions. With a ‘fatter’ agenda shareholders won’t have time to ask for trivia. Newer companies like Access Kenya, Equity, and Scangroup are more pro-active with the management of their companies. So decisions on acquisitions, fund-raising, are common on the agenda. Another examples is executive compensation: many companies ask shareholders to approve creation of employee share options plans (ESOP’s), but then leave the computation and awarding of benefits to trustees (another set of directors); at Vodafone, shareholders know and vote how much current CEO Vittorio Colao, and former CEO Arun Sarin earned, so why not let the shareholders know how much Michael Joseph and the directors earn per year per meeting etc. Can’t handle that? Uganda companies can do that. Also at Vodafone all directors retire each year, which should ensure a robust re-election session.
2. The complete 2009 Safaricom annual report will only be given to those who request it, to save costs. It will be downloaded from the website. So let’s have a interactive report so investors can choose to download video or just sections they are interested in e.g. the notice only. Same with the memo & articles
3. Promote a alternative methods for shareholders’ to enhance value. Support a dividend re investment program (DRIP). Not everyone wants an M-Pesa dividend; some may prefer to buy 100 more shares in the company instantly, while the shares are still cheap (Kshs. 3.7 or ~$0.05 per share) and a DRIP will be a useful tool that keeps cash within the company and its owners. Alternately, if feeling philanthropic, Vodafone shareholders may donate their meagre shares to a charity - and why not to a school in Kenya that was Tahidi High last night!
4. Broadcast a webcast of the AGM - this will be a showcase for safaricom’s broadband capabilities and will be enable foreign investors to participate. If not ,broadcast it on TV so people don’t have to travel to Nairobi from other towns and can watch have it from home – NTV or Citizen would cover the mid-morning event up to the 1PM news
5. Promote alternative voting ; by e-mail, by telephone, by mailing in the post; mail-in happens in Kenya, but Kenyan investors feel they have to be there, to vote which is not the case.
6. Send investors information by phone (SMS) or e-mail. Safaricom is a mobile phone company; they send trivial messages to advertise products, so why not also quarterly results by phone? And for those of us at the next level, why not Safaricom twitter ? Join @kenyaairways and @jimmykibaki (:_}) on the new media wave
7. Don’t leave everything to the share registrar: On the website, shareholders can track their shareholding, change their address, and change their dividend payment option. At the meeting have a shareholder help desk – already a common feature at bank AGM’s (Equity, NIC) but to help them transfer their shares to the bank. Online information use was a feature deployed during the IPO, but that information is sitting un-utilized in a server somewhere
8. Pre-empt shareholder questions with a FAQ. Compile a list of frequently asked questions with appropriate answers, put them on website, or hand out flyers for those who attend meetings.
9. The Vodafone site warns investors about boiler room tactics and cold callers after their shares. So why not tell shareholder which brokers are misbehaving? Which to use and not to use?
10. Vodafone governance policy calls for disclosure of any political donations (and for Safaricom if any) – it has been noted here that the company tends to have increased corporate social responsibility activities in the home areas of the sitting information minister
11. Oh, and finally Tea & coffee will be served at Vodafone AGM -
Kutwa Tuesday: From Stanchart to LPG
» bankelele stories found this week
Stanchart Bank:
Smaller profit - Standard Chartered is being much maligned for being the first bank to report a profit drop in 2008 of 4% to 4.7 billion shillings. ($59 million) (Increased 29% in 07). The bank which adopted a conservative approach compared to Barclays, KCB and Equity. Stanchart had asset growth of 9% to 99 billion (13% in 07), deposits up 4% to 77 billion and loans up 10% to 43 billion in 2008. Still their shareholders will get the highest dividend of any listed bank in 2008.
Here are some other performance comparisons of the main banks that have so far reported their 2008 results.
Goes for smaller customers - In a slight about turn, Stanchart has also launched a new low cost transactional account called Hifadhi, costs 2,000 to open, no ledger fees, or ‘cash handling fees’ with e-statements you only pay for transactions you incur, though its’ not as affordable as other 'cheap' bank accounts for small earners. Going for smaller customer has been a recurrent theme in 2008 with banks, insurance and investment companies lowering the minimum subscription amount. Examples are pepea from Barclays, Toboa from Old Mutual and even the Government of Kenya which lowered the minimum investment for GoK treasury bonds to just Kshs. 50,000 (~$625)
Bank briefs
- Stanchart get back to what they are good at – big corporate deals this one for Kengen
- Gulf African launches a shariah compliant mortgage scheme
- New bank branches: First Community bank now in Malindi, Ecobank in Kisii, while Family Bank re-opened in Githurai
- Another SMS sends Equity customers into bank panic withdrawals this time in Machakos.
From the blogs
Siasa mbaya, maisha mbaya: Global economic slump aside, Nairobi’s Stock Exchange will not see a bull run until the country’s political problems are sorted out according to MainaT
The Sunday Nation broke a story of the old Embakasi airport been handed over to an unlicensed new airline, but airport analysis comes from one Coldtusker
Following in the success of the infrastructure bond (over-subscribed by 45%), the Kenya Government is offering another bond to supplement its budget deficit; this one is for 8.5 billion ($106 million). More details from Conceptadvisoryservices and the minimum investment is just 50,000 ($625).
Kenya Rugby Effects: Kenya had a wonderful run at the IRB World Cup in Dubai, and knocked out defending champions Fiji in the quarter finals. Here’s some rugby loss reactionfrom Fiji.
Elsewhere
Employees lose & lose - it’s been a bad week for employees as the Employment Act was set aside and the government shifted more of the pension burden to civil servants to contribute towards their own retirement funds.
Madaraka finalized - Madaraka Estate houses were finally sold, apparently ending a long long running saga between homeowners, the City Council and the National Housing Corporation who should really update their website.
Laptop mania - so many offers for laptops these days, new this week were
- Safaricom selling Macbook with broadband modem for 100,000 ($1,250)
- Acer A110 laptop on sale with open office for $230 - great for Kenyans new to mini laptop market
- Even my bank/broker (CFC) hawks Acer Aspire 4710 and has loans that work out to 5,500 ($70) per month
Is Grad School a Con? - Half the Sunday Nation advertisements were for colleges aiming at the recent high school graduates whose results were announced last week. Also growing are the numbers of universities and master programs, but this article argues against going to grad school to avoid the recession with the author pointing out that;
- Grad school pointlessly delays adulthood.
- PhD programs are pyramid schemes
- Business school is not going to help 90% of the people who go.
- Most jobs are better than they seem: You can learn from any job.
- Graduate school forces you to overinvest: It’s too high risk.
(found at chris blattman)
LPG Shocker - when to buy cooking gas last night. Found the cylinder, however it appears that there is now a valve that will be mandatory on all cylinders from April 2009 - it is a universal valve, that will enable consumers to buy LPG /cooking gas from any supplier e.g. Kenol., Total, NOCK - replacing cylinders from any of them, since they will now have a common head/valve. The move is supposed to break the monopoly of established companies e.g. if you had a Kenol gas cylinder, you could only replace it at Kenol when buying new gas, whereas if you wanted to switch to Shell gas, you’d have to buy a brand new cylinder.
new gas cap
The problem was that many Total stations did not have the valve. (I checked at three stations) and they all sent me to the place that has everything in Kenya - Nakumatt. Nakumatt also say they stock valves for all companies, but only had the generic caps to sell. It’s scary to use a generic caps, since there are many fires in Kenya caused by exploding/leaking cooking gas cylinders. Hope this turns out ok when April comes around and more consumers realize they have to buy caps which cost anywhere from 500 ($6.25) to 900 shillings each, another cost to the burdened urban consumer. It would also be nice if oil companies and/or the Government conducted some consumer awareness about this matter, not leaving it to Nakumatt and untrained Petrol attendants. -
Urban Inflation Index: March 2009
» bankelele Changes in the three months ago since my last review in December 2008 and also compared to February 2008, which was just over a year ago.
In 2009, oil prices and maize prices have become the national talk as scandals, shortages, and price hikes have plague these industries causing grave concern that the country could be destabilized.
With maize, a shortage of maize flour on supermarkets coupled with shady deals were highlighted in the media all leading to a motion of no confidence in Parliament against the Agriculture Minister in February 2009. it was shot down
In oil/petrol, the collapse of Triton petrol, a small politically-connected oil marketer had ripples across the industry. The firm appears to have made a big gamble and purchased and stored excessive stocks in the expectation that oil prices would remain high, but when they dropped, the firm imploded and the chief executive fled to India. It has become a monster scandal with staff losing their jobs, banks suing the government (through the oil storage and pipeline companies) and calls for another no confidence vote in Parliament, this time against the Energy Minister.
changes in the last three months
Gotten cheaper
Fuel: A Litre of petrol fuel (at local petrol station) is now Kshs. 75 (~$4.2 per gallon) which is about 20% cheaper than it was 92.7 in December 2008. Shell Petroleum led the price drop, forcing other oil marketers to follow suit and probably did in Triton with their price cut in December 2008. Petrol was Kshs. 88 a year ago
Unchanged
Staple Food: Maize flour which is used to make Ugali that is eaten by a majority of Kenyans daily. A 2 kg. Unga pack at Uchumi today costs Kshs. 96, compared to Kshs. 97 in December 2008. However it cost just Kshs. 52 a year ago
Communications: Despite the presence of two additional phone companies, the mobile price war has cooled and calls cost about Kshs. 8 (~$0.10) per minute. With Zain, the price applies across all networks, but for Safaricom it's within their network only. New companies are offering gimmicks like Yu's Kshs. 0.50 per minute (after making calls for two minuets at Kshs.7.50). However other prices, notably in data and equipment (handset prices) have dropped. Safaricom modem’s cost less than ½ their introduction price, and features like Picture messaging (SMS) now costs Kshs 3.50 ($0.04) (it was introduced at 20) a year ago Safaricom calls were also about 8 shillings per minute
More Expensive
Electricity: my bill last month is Kshs 1,800 - slightly less than the bill a year ago. However by looking at the components that make up the bill - fixed charge is Kshs. 240 (was 175 a year ago), fuel cost adjustment is 427c per kwh (was 199c a year ago), forex adjustment was 63c per kwh (was 31c per kwh) - all causing my bill to cost about 70% higher than my approximate consumption a year ago. This is also a sore point with Kenyan manufacturers and industries who have complained (PDF) about the high tariffs even as Kenya power & lighting company announced improved profits for 2008.
Foreign Exchange: 1 US$ equals Kshs. 80.07, it was 79.08 in December 2008. Remittances to Kenya which have dropped every month since October 2008, are partly to blame. US$1 was 70.7 shillings a year ago
Entertainment: A bottle of Tusker beer (at local pub) is Kshs. 130 ($1.60) up from Kshs. 120 in December 2008. East African Breweries, Kenya's leading brewer, has complained about high input costs and new taxation, and for once their share price is almost as cheap as the recommended retail price of their main seller - a bottle of Tusker beer was 120 a year ago
Other food item: Sugar (2 kg. Mumias pack) is at 165, it was Kshs. 160 last December. 150 a year ago
EDIT: Also, more expensive is Housing - the rent was hiked 40% in January 2009; however that’s still about ½ what I’d be comfortable paying for a mortgage in the neighborhood. -
Nairobi Stock Exchange Fiddles
» bankelele While investors burn or run
Fresh off the appointment of a new chairman of the Capital Markets Authority, the owners of the Nairobi Stock Exchange welcomed him with another pledge to:
-Cap broker ownership of the stock exchange (NSE) at 40%
- Reinforce compliance and supervision through implementation of a risk based supervisory approach yada yada yada.....
- Deal with the findings of the PWC Forensic Report on Nyaga Stockbrokers once the report is received from the CMA i.e. they officially haven’t seen it!
So they throw the ball back to the Government (to fast track the demutualization process - and what this entails) and the CMA (new Chairman to act on the report) while investors rush back and forth like headless chicken changing brokers in search of the one honest broker left in Nairobi, while also yearning to return to the good old days when share certificates were kept in bank vaults or under mattresses. -
Urban Inflation Index: December 2008
» bankelele Four months ago last review (should be a quarterly exercise going forward) . 2008 has been a year with high prices and cost of living factors in the news. From the post-election violence in January to the (then) world oil prices, the pinch has been felt in Kenya.
The Government has come under pressure, but without addressing of its own excesses (procurement, new offices & limousines, parliemantarians, councilors and judges who refuse to pay income tax), has likewise tried to run the screw on the corporate sector - resulting in efforts to reduce the price of petrol and now maize flour (staple food)
Gotten more expensive
Staple food: Maize flour which is used to make Ugali, that is eaten by a majority of Kenyans daily. A 2 kg. Unga pack at Uchumi today costs Kshs. 97 which is 1/3 more than the Kshs. 73 four months ago. Farming woes continue, the crop this year is bad and Unga who said that they ran out of flour, among other revelations at their AGM, also stated that the maize harvest in 2009 will be worse and high prices will continue. There have been allegations of dodgy imports and the Government is today trying to arm-twist the price of Unga down to Kshs. 55 (EDIT – the Government announced today that maize will cost Kshs. 72 in urban areas and Kshs. 52 in rural areas)
Other food item: Sugar (2 kg. Mumias pack) is at Kshs. 160, up from Kshs. 145 three months ago. For Mumias customers and shareholders, the price is even lower for other unbranded sugar(s) on shelves.
Foreign Exchange: 1 US$ equals Kshs. 79.08, (18% weaker) than the Kshs. 67.4 four months go. This is partly the strengthening of the dollar, partly outflows from Kenya (at the NSE) - and comes after the shilling (while strong) had cushioned some impact of high oil prices.
Gotten cheaper
Fuel: Litre of petrol fuel (at local petrol station) is now Kshs. 92.7 (~$5.40 gallon) which is about 10% cheaper than the Kshs. 101.50 seen last time. While that is still higher than it was at the beginning of the year, and oil prices are down over 60% from the record highs of mid-2008, it is remarkable that for once fuel prices have reduced. In the past they have merely stagnated and oil companies, not passed on savings to consumers, but the threat of the government to regulate the prices, and a sustained media campaign (web/radio) has resulted in a slight reduction in petrol prices. (EDIT – A leading oil marketer - Shell announced today that prices will drop by Kshs. 15)
Entertainment: Bottle of Tusker beer (at local pub) is Kshs. 120 down from Kshs. 130 (cheaper by 8% from four months ago). Don’t know if this is one pub decision or the competition from new Summit beet launched by Keroche in October 2008 - the first true local competitor since (South African) Castle folded shop about six years ago. How will EABL fight back, and do they have to? Keroche got off to a good start but there has been little post launch marketing.
Communications: Continues to get cheaper as two mobile phone companies have become operational in the last quarter of the year – Orange (France Telkom) and Yu (Essar/Econet). The tone was set by Zain’s successful Vuka tariff, priced at Kshs. 8 per minute to call any network. Market leader Safaricom responded with Jibambie (up to a 63% discount) which enabled their subscribers to make calls at prices ranging from Kshs. 8 down to Kshs. 3 per minute if they bought a bigger denomination airtime voucher. The battle for subscribers is shifting now from voice calls which have reached unprecedented lows to data and money transfer where Safaricom is effectively Kenya’s largest ISP and money wallet.
No change: Electricity: My November KPLC bill is still Kshs. 1,900, same as it was in August, with a fuel surcharge reduction yet to be effected. High electricity prices have been a major cause for concern among Kenyan companies leading to President Kibaki to call for a reduction in the taxes levied on petrol prices and electricity.
But: Related: Is the quality of official statistics inflation data in question?
EDIT - Challenged by inflation, but with a view to improving liquidity, the Central Bank of Kenya today lowered the CBR rate (implied base rate) from 9 to 8.5% and also lowered the bank minimum cash ratio from 6 % to 5% -
Mark Mobius on Emerging Markets
» bankelele Dr. Mark Mobius, the executive Chairman of Franklin Templeton Investments,is in Nairobi this week. He gave a talk this morning on his investment perspectives. It is especially timely considering the bear market being experience the world over and at the Nairobi Stock Exchange this year.
Some notes
- They are bargain hunters, they love cheap stocks and thus love bear markets
- Emerging markets look good for long term investors for several reasons: they are growing faster than developed countries, they have less debt, they have more reserves, inflation is coming down, they are taking up a lager share of world trade and also trading more with each other
- Bull markets are followed by bear markets which are followed by bull markets then bear......
- Bull markets last longer than bear markets, and values appreciate more during bear markets than they depreciate during bear markets. he said by their measures over the last 20 years bull markets last on average 22 months and values appreciate by 113% while bear markets on average last 6 months and values depreciate 32%
- Various FT funds are concentrated in mainly energy stocks, then banks, raw materials, communications etc.
My take: This is a time to buy Nairobi Stock Exchange Shares (NSE) , if you have the money and a long term investment perspective -
EABL 2008 AGM
» bankelele EABL 2008 AGM -
Take Crash Positions
» bankelele Take Crash Positions -
Real Estate Moment
» bankelele Real Estate Moment -
$10 hotel room
» bankelele $10 hotel room -
Kutwa Friday: Everything Must Go
» bankelele Kutwa Friday: Everything Must Go -
Real Estate Moment
» bankelele Real Estate Moment -
Electric Shock
» bankelele Electric Shock -
Nairobi Expense Account
» bankelele Finally have one full year of data on expenses incurred. As part of an experiment I have tried to quantify daily spending over the last 365 days (and categorized them as follows)
Rent 37%, Investments 9%, Education 9% (bound to go up each coming year), Being a good guy 8% (Gifts 4%, Family 3%, Charity 1%), Fuel 7% (offset by more public transport use), Drinks 7% (socializing & entertaining), Dining 5%, Groceries 4% (not my docket) Communications 3% (take that Michael Joseph), Transport 3% (reading novels in the matatu), Utilities 3% (cost may double this year), Furniture 3%, Recreation 2% (I can afford to play more golf and get a decent handicap), Newspapers 2% (keeping up with politics & finance), Clothing 2% (FYI: Dr. Manu Chandaria only has 7 suits), Repairs 2%, Parking 1%, Personal 1%, Electronics 1%. -
Urban Inflation Index
» bankelele a week early, with some changes
Tracking prices of some urban commodities compared to six months ago and a year ago
Fuel: Litre of petrol fuel (at local petrol station) is Kshs. 101.50 ~ $1.50 (up 15.3% in ½ year)
6 months ago: Kshs. 87.99, Year ago: Kshs. 80.79
despite record world oil prices, government joint tender system has cushioned some impact on the economy – even oil companies are not celebrating
Staple food: Maize flour (2 kg. Unga pack at Uchumi) is Kshs. 73 (up 40% in ½ year)
6 months ago Kshs. 52, Year ago Kshs. 50
farming woes continue, poor crop expected this year
Other food item: Sugar (2 kg. Mumias pack) at Uchumi is Kshs. 145 (down 3% in ½ year)
6 months ago: Kshs. 150, Year ago Kshs. 150 Kshs
new minister trying to clean up notorious sector
Entertainment: Bottle of Tusker beer (at local pub) is Kshs. 130 (up 8.3% in ½ year)
6 months ago; Kshs. 120, Year ago: Kshs. 100
agricultural input costs rising, but post-budget sin tax pushed prices up. You need this to network in Kenya, or switch to Alvaro?
Communications: mobile phone promotion
This month Safaricom has Ongea tariff which has phone calls priced Kshs. 10 per minute all day, while Celtel has a Kshs. 3 per minute tariff (and with a conditional ‘free’ call package thrown in). Safaricom is also promoting broadband hotspots for the entire Nairobi and Mombasa areas.
- Six months go: Safaricom had extended the hours for Kshs. 8 calls on Saasa tariff, while Celtel had Kshs. 4 per minute calls to 3 preferred numbers
- A year ago Safaricom had Super Tariffic tariff which has calls 38% cheaper and SMS 30% cheaper than the previous tariff
mobile communications one of the few things that are getting cheaper
Exchange rate
1 US$ equals Kshs. 67.4 (shilling has appreciated 4.7% in ½ year)
6 months ago: 70.7, Year ago: 66.5
strong , but now sliding, shilling has cushioned some impact of high oil prices, but exporters are complaining
Electricity cost
New addition
My electricity bill in July 2008 is Kshs. 1,860
A year ago was Kshs. 995
Consumption was the same, the culprit was fuel costs adjustment which added Kshs. 820(649c/kwh) to my bill compared to Kshs. 200 shillings (170c/kwh) a year ago as KPLC recently increased the electricity charges which could have some adverse effect on the economy later in the year – already big manufacturers are investing in power plants and alternative generation sources. -
12 Free Things in Nairobi
» bankelele 12 Free Things in Nairobi -
Saturday Reading
» bankelele Saturday Reading
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Transporting Nairobi; can Uhuru drive this car?
» Kenya Imagine It is far from the most graceful move, but Local Government Minister Uhuru Kenyatta's decision to restrict access into the city centre for matatus is a bold decision (whatever its motivations) and one that bears much potential. The minister cannot, of course, be absolved for his failure to give adequate notice to the matatu owners, or to explain the exemption from his decree of the major bus companies. He cannot either be forgiven the negligent manner in which so far-reaching and disruptive an innovation was implemented, nor for lacking the foresight to adequately manage the consequences of these measures. Still, the policy may yet be redeemed and the city that was once green and in the sun, may live to celebrate a decision that should serve to reduce its overwhelming ambient air pollution and clear its streets of noisy and costly traffic jams.
Read more from Angela Wairimu here.
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Urban inflation index
» bankelele back to normal
Compared to a year ago
This shows that not much changed for those in Nairobi able to travel around and shop properly at Uchumi that life is pretty normal as far as shopping is concerned.
Litre of petrol: 87.99 shillings (~$5.50 a gallon) and up 18% from a year ago (then 74.29) when you drive around Nairobi you can get prices from about 85 to 92 this week For petrol prices, I have been tracking a brand name station that tends to have slightly lower prices than may parts of the city where the price is at around 91 shillings. And these are expected to go up this year as are electricity bills which are already being billed at 12% higher for residential house. Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi sounded out another warning yesterday to petrol companies to adjust the prices downwards when international oil prices drop – but the companies have, over the years ignored previous warnings from Ministers and government officials, and not passed on any savings to motorists.
Maize meal ugali (2 kg. unga) 52 shillings (50 a year ago)
Sugar (2 kg. Mumias pack) 150 shillings (no change from a year ago)
Fresh food prices have gone up also. Milk and bread have increased by a few shillings depending on where you shop. The prices of vegetables have gone up, some even up to 4X what they were before the election, but vegetable prices are seasonal and once supplies and fresh harvest kick in, the prices should adjust downwards.
Tusker beer: 120 shillings at local pub - up 20% (from 100 a year ago)
some pubs experienced shortages in the post-election period until the only beer they were left with was Guinness
(Safaricom) Mobile phone promotion: a year ago Safaricom had introduced Saasa - with 8 shillings per minute calls during off peak hours. This year they have extended the hours that off-peak applies, while rival Celtel has lowered the bar with 4 shilling per minute calls to 3 preferred numbers
What i really want from mobile company is for one tariff to focus on cheap data charges – SMS, Internet browsing – while voice can remain expensive
US Dollar exchange rate: 70.7 shilling to the dollar - unchanged (was 69.97 a year ago). But this is abnormal as it does not capture the the strength of the Kenya shilling which had appreciated to about 63 just before the election – from December it has lost 10% against the dollar and 17% against the Euro (overall it is 15% weaker against the Euro a year ago. -
Thanksgiving Portfolio
» bankelele Earlier: Thanksgiving 2006 portfolio
The Stable
Diamond Trust
Express
ICDCI
KCB
Scangroup
Sameer
Stanbic (UG)
Total
* Uchumi (suspended)
What's changed?
In: ICDCI
Out: None
Increase: Diamond Trust (rights), Scangroup
Lightened: KCB
Dividends expected: no interims
Unexpected gains/losses:
New listings not taken on: Kenya Re
Best performer: Stanbic (Ug)
Worst Performer: Total (though the dividend is assured)
Looking forward to: none really. I sat out of the Kenya Re IPO, and then didn’t really want it after the shares listed - maybe next year. Same with the Safaricom IPO which is getting dangerously close to the election, but which I expect to sit out again and instead give the money I have to some candidates (2 parliamentary, 1 civic) toward election expenses.
Lessons learnt: (i) you should not try and time trades e.g. company books for dividend close on Thursday, so you try and buy shares on Tuesday – just won’t work; think and trade long term (ii) attempts to buy low and sell high by setting a price based on yesterday’s high/low also won’t work; so think long term and don’t worry about intra-day prices
Performance Summary: The Motley Fool advises that investors should beat the share index to consider their returns a success. The NSE 20 share index is up 1% in the last six months while my portfolio is down 0.7% from May 2007. The actual share holdings are up about 13% but with the cash taken out from when KCB shares sold, the net position is down. -
End of Parliament
» bankelele The 9th Parliament is over, paving the way for general elections to be held in December 2007.
NTV Reporter Robert Nagila had a nice piece on NTV last week about the 222 vacancies in Parliament – terming them among the best jobs in Kenya. [A member of parliament gets 5 years security of tenure (while no CEO job is safe when profits fall), and millionaire status guaranteed from an annual salary of about 10 million shillings ($142,000) a year - higher than most developed countries]
Professionals of all sorts are lining up to win the seats this year - including one constituency with over 40 candidates.
Looking back over the five years past, this parliament was doomed in the public mind when upon entering the house they immediately raised (almost doubling) their salaries. And as much as they blame the media for carping on each and every salary increase, it struck a nerve with many poor Kenyans.
So, long before the government got its act together to tackle civil servants, teacher and police and other workers salaries, MP’s had already taken care of their welfare, and continued to do so as a ritual.
And for the good work they did on passing procurement and sexual offences bill, conducting a credible investigation on Anglo leasing, and constituency development funds, and 60 other bills those were overshadowed by the inter-party bickering, lack of quorum (even during passage of some said bills) and needless salary hikes. It has been estimated than over ½ of them will not make it back to parliament in 2008, and for that we hope to have a more sensible crop of leaders.
What worries me is that all the MP’s I have personally met are sensible, smart people who are professional with degrees, but when they enter the parliament a herd mentality seems to take over and you see the same people on TV spewing childish taunts and obscenities at their opponents and perceived enemies.
For more read the light and the intrigues of parliament
Other Pro’s
- high self awareness
- Can lump even more personal bills onto the tax payer by accepting a useless assistant minister’s post.
- You get to sign a whole page in any visitors/condolence book (instead of one line)
- Can use the prefix “Honorable ___ ” long after you leave parliament
- groupies
Some drawbacks
- Getting there is expensive and dirty which scares away many decent people.
- Vehicle to parliament is called a political parties which has no purpose these, but they have to be paid to secure a certificate.
- Low public esteem.
- But the public/constituents, still expect MP’s to fund them since they are multi-millionaires
- Stalkers
other opportunities
most from the weekend papers
Acumen Fund Fellows: New York, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, India, Pakistan, D/L is 24/10
Barclays Africa Leadership Program
IFC investment officer, infrastructure advisory. D/L 2/11
Managing Director at KCB Uganda . Apply to recruitement@kcb.co.ke by 5/11
Business writers at Nation media group. Apply to hrrecruit@nation.co.ke by 30/10
Associate editor - business at the Standard
Other management vacancies (several each) include Kenya Airways, National Bank, National Oil Corp of Kenya, Safaricom and the Kenya ICT Board (but no web site)?
Kenya petroleum refineries (14) trainee refinery operators apply by snail mail -
John Gakuo: Restoring Nairobi’s Glory
» bankelele 
Like former Mayor (and now Presidential Candidate) Rudy Giuliani did for New York in the mid 1990’s, John Gakuo, the town clerk of the City Council of Nairobi, is credited with the clean up of the city, making it a cleaner, safer, and a more beautiful place to visit.
So how did he do it? He gave a Leadership Forum talk on October 17 on his time at City Hall
Who: John Gakuo is a University of Nairobi Graduate and had been an administrator (provincial administration) for over 20 years. He was appointed Town Clerk (effectively CEO) of the Nairobi City Council in 2004. He is inspired by history – France’s recovery since WWI, the Arusha Declaration (Tanzania) - and believes that Nairobi can be restored to its glory, which last shone in the 1970’s.
He gave his talk on the challenge of effective resource management and began by saying that resources were not the key to change, noting that some countries with abundant mineral resources, have their citizens living in extreme poverty, while others with less resources, have prudently managed what they have to achieve great things. And that was the theme of his talk – use what you have to get what you want
The success he has had at city hall has been though effective resource management and he decried leaders who use the ‘we have no money’ excuse for not doing things, noting that they should solve problems in other ways
Beginning: He was transferred there from the Ministry of Health and initially believed someone wanted him fired (from government) by having him posted to the ‘chaotic’ office – one that attracts insults in the media every day, for the poor conditions in the city. He found the city dirty because they had no brooms, and was told there was no money to buy brooms. He thought about it and decided that the staff could not be idle, so he asked them to cut tree branches to sweep up the city. In no time, this led to money becoming available, and soon brooms were procured and work continued.
And from that point on he decided to set out priority areas that he could tackle with his limited resource base, and which produced visible results, since he did not have money to do what people wanted most.
These included;
Recreation areas: Nairobi city was planned for ½ million people, but now had 3 ½ million, and even up to 4 million during the daytime – and there were no places for recreation. Two parks - Central Park and Uhuru Park were very dirty, un-maintained, and controlled by gangs of urchins who molested anyone who dared go near the parks. So he fixed the one tractor and grass cutter and began a long attempt to mow the grass and clean the parks of trash. They also set up lighting for the park and security so that couples and families could begin using the park. He is gratified by the numbers of people (couples, families) who now visit and rest in the park, in relative safety. Later he extended his campaign to Uhuru Gardens (Langata Road) even though it is not under the Council’s jurisdiction – and it is now a popular weekend rest point for people.
Statutory (legal) powers as a resource for service delivery: He said, even when you have no money, you still have to be seen to be at work, and that people always want to see new things from leaders. So he undertook measures which were visible and which he could maintain, but which did not require money. He took advantage of very powerful, but dormant, by-laws in the city council code, which he combined with the abundant staff resource at his disposal. These efforts included curbing down on garbage dumping at Kangemi (though it took over 2,000 arrests for the message to sink in), and requiring buildings owners in Nairobi to fix & paint their buildings prior to license renewal. Also littering, public urination, and zebra crossing, and numerous other (unfortunate ‘violations’ were punished by the councils various inspectorate teams.
Lighting & beautification
Lighting is an essential feature of beautification and security in the city. He set out to put lights that would give visitors a positive impression of the city, right from Jomo Kenyatta airport and into the city, as well as on Langata Road and Waiyaki Way up to the city boundaries – and plans to light up Thika Road up to Kenyatta University. Within the city, lighting, combined with other inspectorate crews were used to rid the streets of urchins who used to snatch women’s purses and who made several parts of the city no-go zones after sunset. They plan to light up the other side of Tom Mboya Street up to Nairobi River and Khoja Mosque as well.
In addition to urchins he also cut down on the women who’d beg with children on their back all day, believing that few of them were genuine cases. He does not know where they went, but they are not on the streets anymore as they can be charged with ‘idling’. He joked that when you see him coming up with a new by-law to enforce, you know the City is broke again
Trees are relatively cheap to plant; they make the city beautiful and filter the exhaust fumes from vehicles. So the council has planted thousands of evergreen trees in the city and along the major highways
Roundabouts and fountains are being resorted in parks and at strategic point in the city after years of disuse
Kiosks often harbor undesirables, some can do, but they are a very sensitive political matter and he gets a lot of pressure when he cracks down. However with the ones outside Nairobi Hospital, he was able to accommodate them by asking that they rebuild them in a manner that they were not an eyesore
Matatu’s He described the transport minibuses as a menace. Some measures he has taken to reign them in include stationing 2 tow trucks at the Westlands to intercept any matatu dropping of picking up passengers on the road, instead of suing the bus-stop, while on Thika Road, they are digging trenches to prevent matatu’s from driving down the side of the road.
Roundabouts are archaic and they will all be ripped up along Uhuru Highway
Garbage Disposal The Dandora dumpsite been around for 50 years to the detriment of their residents’ health. They City Council is seeking an international company to tackle solid waste disposal soon
partnerships
He said business & residents associations have not provided meaningful assistance – all they do is have endless meetings and resolutions with no action thereafter, while most who have pledged to restore/beautify some roundabouts have not done more than put up their own advertising. He welcomes anyone or business that has a plan/action to beautify/restore any project in the City to contact his office, noting that majority of city residents have been impatient but not helpful
media relations: He has engaged the public through the media by responding/replying to each accusation of report he read in the news about the City Council. This has helped the media come around to understand the challenges he faces
numbers: he was questioned later about revenue and staff numbers. On staff he said that they have about 13,000 staff and ideally should have 7,000. he says when he has enough money he will retrench some of them, but for now he’ll continue to use them as effectively as he can so they earn their keep. On revenue he said when he joined 2 ½ years ago, city was collecting 3 billion, now they are up to 11 billion and growing. Earlier on he took over aspects of the finance department, since treasury was receiving very little of what was collected
succession: one questioner dropped a Tom Peters quote on him challenging that ‘leaders are not judged by how many followers they have, but by how many leaders they create’ – to which he replied that all he can do is let others see his strategies and actions and see if they are worth emulating.
summary: The Town Clerk is a man who believes in action, not talk. And with his style and achievements, you can expect him to probably, like Rudy Giuliani (minus the personal baggage), step into politics in a few years.
Email: townclerk@nairobi.org -
Election year inflation
» bankelele The elections are a few weeks away and assets are disposed of and savings converted into consumer spending and other election-related services. People are being warned to be careful with their SUV’s (lest they are stolen to be used in rural campaigns and dumped)
There are 210 constituencies in the country and one estimate of the cost of running a viable campaign is set at about 10 million shillings ($150,000) - and this can be as high as 100 million shillings (where titans are battling it out to enter Parliament)
Scenes from the Nairobi show
Also known as the Nairobi international trade fair (which ended on Sunday October 7)
- Traffic to the showground was so bad along Ngong road, that it was better and faster to detour along Kibera. I asked one very tired policeman about this and he replied that the heavy traffic was not related to the trade fair – just that vehicles never cease coming no matter how long directs the traffic (too many cars)
- Visiting an impressive stand, I’m reminded that long before Vice President Moody Awori spruced up the Prisons Department, it was highly regarded for the good quality furniture that they i.e. prisoners used to (and still) produce and which the department would sell to the public
- A yellow Humvee is a big draw for all the school kids even though they are not allowed near it
- I was able to get my social security statement from the NSSF stand, but my stockbroker could not give me a statement! (They were not online). The NSSF also gave a friendly reminder to patrons to top up their contributions otherwise they would receive very little when they retired
- Ice cream vendors almost every 10 yards. And the way it was hot, they were all doing roaring business
- JKUAT (University) enterprises produce a variety of juices, jams, soaps and lotions.
- A drunk high school student being hauled out of the show grounds by his colleagues. I later passed them outside the showground and noticed they have wisely removed their school uniforms – otherwise they could have bundled into a police wagon to be paraded on the evening news. -
Urban inflation index
» bankelele August 07 – changes from 6 months ago
- Litre of fuel Kshs. 80.79 ~ $1.21 (up 8.75%)
- Maize meal (2 kg. Unga) 50 shillings (no change)
- Sugar (2 kg. Mumias pack) 150 shillings (no change)
- Tusker beer: 100 shillings at local (no change)
- Safaricom promotion: Then: was Saasa - with 8 shillings per minute calls during off peak hour. Now is new shape of Safaricom including a new Super Tariffic tariff which has calls 38% cheaper and SMS 30% cheaper than the previous Tariffic tariff
- US Dollar exchange rate: Kshs. 66.50 (5% weaker against the shilling)
- Plastics items are not being tracked, but milk and bread have gone up since the budget speech read in June.
Personal expenses
I tried using various online services to track expenses, but eventually fell back to Microsoft Excel and built a tracker that fit my needs. For July 2007;
- Rent 30% (high, but it’s safe and close to town)
- Charity 14% (one time event)
- Electronics 11% (new phone, but do I say)
- Fuel 8% (lower than expected, but my daily commute is short)
- Drinks 6% (Rather low, so should not feel guilty)
- Relatives 6% (unavoidable, non recurring expense)
- Investments 5% (should be higher, but there’s nothing promising till end of August)
- Dining 5%
- Parking 4% (take that Mr. Mayor)
- Newspaper 2% (rather high)
- Gift 2% (for every time I visit someone’s’ house)
- Utilities 2% (electricity & water)
- Communications 2% (mostly Safaricom)
- Groceries 2%
- Personal 1%
sports
- I love the new G TV advertisement which compares the three English premiership soccer packages
Get 3 games a month for 0 shillings i.e. Nation TV (NTV)
Get 6 games a month for $70 ~ i.e. DSTV
Or 32 games a month for Kshs 2,750 (i.e. GTV)
but this weekend, Supersport will show opening matches of the big four teams Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester Utd
-With all the fallout from the Hungarian Grand Prix, it should be pointed out (to non-F1 fans) that Hamilton started the fracas on Saturday when he deliberately ignored a direct order from Ron Dennis (team Boss) to let Alonso past on the track during the early stages of qualifying three.
-
In the City Of Rats
» Kenya Imagine L. Akitelek Papakemus on the aggression of the Nairobian.
I however know for certain that I am not a big rat by Nairobi standards. This is evidenced in a series of signs posted on several unfortunate trees along Ngong Road: “Hapana kodjoa.”; “Hapana kodjoa hapa!”; “Usikodjoe hapa kabisa”; and finally with all the pent up frustration of an unheeded sign writer, there was, “Usikodjoe hapa mjinga wewe!” When I get to be that big a rat, I’ll put in an application to drop out of the rat race. Meanwhile “if you can’t beat them join them”, and perhaps strive to be the best (but not the “biggest”) rat you can be.
Read more here.
-
The real Safaricom EDGE
» bankelele (Premium) Story in the Nation about the Cabinet being presented with a paper to approve the sale of 25% of Safaricom to the public.
This is a winning card this election year that will be foremost in the minds of investors and voters. A well managed Safaricom IPO before December could deliver more votes than needless voter expenditure or rhetoric from any leader.
Power shift: Meanwhile Bloomberg reports that - for the first time since WWII more money will be raised from European IPO’s than US ones. Stringent regulations, high costs (6.7% of IPO versus 3.3% for Europe) and the weak US$ to blame as 14 or the 15 biggest recent IPO’s were listed outside the US. -
Media bill 2007
» bankelele There have been many columns written about the Media Bill 2007 that was presented in Parliament this month and which seeks to instill responsibility among journalists. However it is missing from the ministry site, there are no PDF’s available (so far) and I was only able to get a copy thanks to a networked bloggger.
It was disappointing that so far everyone talks about it, but few (member of the public) have seen it. Even media houses have remained selfish with the document, withholding it and only telling us what’s bad about it. Actually the bill is quite bare, except for providing for the establishment of a media advisory council, media advisory board and a code of conduct for journalists.
- Pros: It creates about 20 new jobs (board seats) on two new bodies (media advisory council and media advisory board)
- Is not as broad as previously envisioned when it appeared that it would cover cross ownership and content issues.
Cons: Much has been written about it - read some (here, here, and here)
The bill is crafted by people who believe that the media are out to get them so it comes out as something that a media-challenged celebrity may have written - guiding the media on what to do and what not to do via a code of conduct. It seems to be directed at the Standard which is believed to have editorial issues dictated by ownership (the bill calls on journalists to refuse to allow the interests of ownership or management to influence news' judgment and content inappropriately) and therefore one ups the Standard by drafting a bill that seeks to forbid intrusions into individuals private life (without the persons consent), alarming headlines (a staple of tabloids to lure buyers), the use of hidden recordings (ala Githongo) and confidential/unnamed sources – with penalties such as deregistration of journalists.
Likely outcome: As bad as the bill is, it may actually pass in parliament because no politician likes the media - they will make a show of opposing the bill, but all will welcome the chance/forum to complain about negative coverage.
Jobs
from the newspapers over the last week
Commercial and political risks underwriter at Africa trade insurance agency - ATIA. Apply to Recruitment@Africa-ECA.com by 15/6
Marketing manager at nation media group: apply to hrrecruit@nation.co.ke 30/5
National communications secretariat of the republic of Kenya: communication legal expert, accountant, system administrator. Apply to ncs@elimu.net 15/6
Pricewaterhousecoopers: public financial management and procurement specialists. Apply to recruitment.ke@ke.pwc.com by 15/6
Sony (South Nyanza Sugar Company): CEO/ M - details here. Also HR development manager, procurement manager, management accountant, property manager, sales operations manager. Apply by 20/6 -
100 years
» bankelele Deloitte 100 years
celebrated inside the Nairobi National park last Friday
Deloitte celebrated 100 years of doing business in Kenya last week at the ivory burning site inside the Nairobi National Park.
I’m sure Deloitte will exist in another hundred years, but will the Nairobi National Park as we know it be around in a hundred years?
This has been debated before but it sure to come up again and again as the city rapidly expands into all open land to the South and East.
And with the three hour traffic jams (more) that some city residents experience daily, each way on roads like Thika Road and Mombasa Road, there is appetite for some improvement.
Decision makers may find it easier to hive off land than to radically change other aspects of rapid urbanizations such as taxation (increase tax on cars to reuce their numbers), develop a mass public transport system, or infrastructure (more by-pass roads) which in any case would still have to run thought the park.
So it’s likely that in a few years you can expect moves to reduce / encroach on the parks 117 sq km to create more residential and commercial space close to the city.
And residents lulled by the offer of more land, easier access to towns, offices and new homes may support absorption of some park space by the city of Nairobi.
Though the park has stood the test of time and remains largely intact to past encroachment efforts, the animal numbers have diminished as developments to the south have cut off migration paths. Stories of lions or leopards being seen in the Langata area at night have all but disappeared. The Kenya Wildlife service has proven adept at relocating animals including elephants and rhinos to other parks in the country and would be called up on to do the same here.
The park has few forested areas so it’s easy to see quite far in the park. But at night during the Deloitte function you could see lights in the distance all around the park, marking the edge of human activity bursting to enter the park.
Good luck to Nairobi National Park over the next 100 years! -
Jobs & opportunities May 13
» bankelele Fund accountants at Alexander Forbes financial services (EA) . Apply to actuaries@aforbes.co.ke by 18/5
DCDM advisor services seeking high caliber individuals to work in audit, business advisory and corporate financial services. Apply to admin@dcdmkenya.com by 18/5
Apply online for dealer (treasury) at Family bank by 15/5
Housing finance relationship manager relationship officer, marketing officer. Apply to human.resources@housing.co.ke by 18/5
Program manager at the Institute of directors (Kenya) . Apply to info@iodkenya.co.ke by 23/5
Kenya Parliament: Seeking a director of information & research services (PSC 14) in charge of hansard, research, ICT, public relation & budget office. Apply by 31/5 to the secretary, parliamentary service commission 41842-00100 Nairobi
KPMG: Acknowledging Kenyan talent earlier this year was Haliburton, and this month it’s KPMG UAE that is seeking to Kenyan audit and financial advisory professionals to work in Muscat, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah. Apply to ae-recruit@kpmg.com
Nation media group is seeking website designer feature writers and other positions.
Various at Safaricom including Forecasting Controller, Management Accountant - Product Analyst, Head of Retail, Head of Customer Management, Materials Inspection Officer – BSS & MW, Senior CRM System Developer, Business Intelligence Developer. Also Chief Business Development Officer and Chief Supply and Administration Officer for which you apply through PricewaterhouseCoopers at ess.ke@ke.pwc.com
business writing
Business plan opportunities found at Kenyan Pundit and PSD blog -
Nairobi Shares Portfolio – May 2007
» bankelele Be a vulture
The Portfolio review is being done a week earlier than expected as I usually try and update six months from last review.
However, in keeping in sync with other blogger portfolios recently released by Odegle Nyang and Riba Capital, here it is:
Current portfolio
Diamond Trust
Express Kenya
Kenya Commercial Bank
Sameer Africa
Scangroup
Stanbic Uganda
Total Oil
* Uchumi (suspended)
What’s changed?
There are fewer shares and portfolio has less value than before as I sold more shares than I bought back.
In: Stanbic (Uganda), Total
Out: Crown Berger, Kenya Airways, Kengen
Increased: Diamond Trust (Rights)
Reduced: -
Dividends expected: D-Trust, Express, KCB, Scangroup, Total
Unexpected gains/losses: Express bonus share, KCB share split
New listings not taken on: Access Kenya, Mumias (Rights)
Best performer: Stanbic (Ug)
Worst Performer: Sameer Africa
Looking forward to: Kenya Airways, Safaricom IPO
Performance Summary: The Motley Fool advises that investors should beat the share index to consider their returns a success. The NSE 20 share index is down 10% in the last six months while my portfolio is down 13% from November 2006.
I sold Kenya Airways shares at around 120/= and for the first time my portfolio does not have KQ shares. If the price continues to drop, I expect to buy some shares in this great company in the coming days, before they announce their year end results - which should have been finalized, but may be delayed by post-Cameroon events. -
VC Fund update
» bankelele More on the $40 million VC fund set up by the Africa venture capital association and East African development. It will invest $100,000 to $2 million in SME's for expansion & modernization, as well as start-ups led by exceptionally qualified entrepreneurs. Advantages of getting funds is that unlike bank loans, you don't have to pledge assets or incur subsequent loan repayments
Jobs
The Africa Development Bank is currently accepting applications for its Young Professional Program (YPP). Details at their site and D/L is 10/5.
Celtel: Product development manager (Comm-mkt-02/07), Product developer (Comm-mkt-03/07). Apply to hr@ke.celtel.com by 4/5
Kenya Airways: Manager – hub & airport systems (I/065/04-07), Revenue management systems administrator (C/066/04-07)
Apply to the group HRD 19002 Nairobi by 14/5
Foundation manager at KCB. Apply to recruitment@kcb.co.ke by 9/5
Safaricom: Head of Retail, Head of Customer Management, Materials Inspection Officer, Senior CRM System Developer, Business Intelligence Developer.
Fund manager at the above mentioned VC fund. Apply to EADB@avcanet.com by 14/5
The Young Professionals Program (YPP) of the World Bank. apply online by 15/7 -
Access Kenya IPO
» bankelele IPO season is on again and this time its Access Kenya - a leading corporate ISP and telephony company.
Am yet to see the full prospectus, which should be an interesting read to see the trend of share capital and profit adjustment that is alluded to in the abbreviated prospectus published in the paper on Thursday – the day the IPO started.
The company has learnt from the Eveready listing and set out to limit shareholder numbers by setting a minimum investment for retail investors at a moderately high 50,000 shillings ($715).
Industry: The communications sector has so much happening now from - unified licences, the Wananchi ATC deal , Telkom SA/AfOL deal, Telkom Kenya re-engineering itself, EASSY vs. TEAMS cabling, fibre optics everywhere and of course Safaricom at the top of the food chain who have continually reinvested much of their record profits towards infrastructure expansion.
Investments in the sector are not cheap and with technology rapidly evolving, the 400 million shillings that will accrue to the company may not be enough for more than a few years at a company that starts off with a marginal balance sheet.
IPO results will be out in May and shares will be listed in June 2007.
Other opportunities
from the daily papers this week
Jobs
Coca Cola - East & Central Africa business unit: franchise marketing manager, hospitality manager, operations marketing representative, financial services manager financial accountant senior brand manage (2) revenue growth manager commercialization manage (2) strategy development manager, human recourse manager compensation & benefits manager quality improvement manager
Apprenticeships for mechanics at DT Dobie: applicants must be under 22 with good grades in maths, physics, English and apply in handwriting by 11/5 to DT Dobie Training Center p o box 30160-00200
Safaricom: head of customer management, head of retail. Apply to chro@safaricom.co.ke.
Soon you can dine in the skies as the Kenyatta International Conference Center has set out to revive its roof top revolving restaurant on the 27th & 28th floors of the building. -
Motoring moment: low tech cars
» bankelele It took three stories to make up this post.
First was this story that appeared in the Standard last week about a range rover limousine that got messed up by a pothole. Then there was one where TV talk show host and car aficionado Jay Leno bragged about being the only celebrity who can drive a manual transmission SLR Mercedes. And finally this piece from the wall street journal which chronicles how frustrated new car owners are with their high-tech machines
Which brings up the question, how much it too much technology for cars? With my budget, I can only to drive a car that Wanjala, my mechanic, can fix at his garage and one whose parts are relatively available and affordable.
Yet Kenyans have been buying top of the range cars at an astonishing rate, some without local parts or technical support. And some of the cars are loaded with such gizmos and that make even their owners confused. How many times have you ridden in a car where the owner does not know what half the dashboard gizmos do? There are all wheel drive cars that never leave the city, tiptronic gears that are never used, cars that lock their owner out or in depending on their perception of insecurity, cars that are supposed to avoid collision and others that are supposed to park themselves.
Sometimes they break down in strange and sad ways - from cars with blown turbochargers that cause them to crawl or new cars that you see parked at the back of a garage as they await arrival of some obscure engine part or maybe it's because the dealer's electronic diagnostic kit has not discovered what bug is ailing the engine.
Other motoring moments:
- a VIP accident
- arrival of the Chrysler 300
Enough about cars
April 13 Jobs
most from the daily papers this week
Academy for educational development: finance manager, finance assistant, administration manager. Apply to regionaloffice@aed.org by 27/4
Investment analyst at British American asset managers. Apply to BAAMHR@baam.co.ke by 27/4
Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue. Project manager and a regional director,both in Nairobi. D/L is 30/4
Financial information systems manager at Equity bank. Apply to jobs@equitybank.co.ke by 27/4
Operations officer (Nairobi) at the IFC growth oriented women entrepreneurs (GOWE Kenya) program. D/L is 27/4
Human resource manager at Innscor Kenya apply to recruit@innscorkenya.co.ke by 27/4
Management trainees at KCB. Apply online by 27/4
Kenya national commission on human rights: principal human rights officer - research policy & legislation program, principal human rights officer - campaign & advocacy program, principal human rights officer - complaints & investigation program. Apply to the commission secretary 74359-00200 by 30/7
Magadi soda: senior buyer, product development manager. Apply to recruit@magadisoda.co.ke by 27/4
Microsoft: infrastructure consultant, corporate account manager, partner account manager. Apply to wecajobs@microsoft.com
Safaricom: Senior internal auditor, senior information systems auditor, and senior information security officer. Deadline is 18/4
Executive director at Transparency international. Apply to recruit@sadeptsystems.co.ke by 27/4
Regional Program Leader at the World Bank PPIAF Nairobi. D/L is 30/4
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