|
Monday 15th of November 2010 |
Morning Africa |
www.rich.co.ke Register and its all Free.
If you are tracking the NSE Do it via RICHLIVE and use Mozilla Firefox as your Browser. 0930-1500 KENYA TIME Normal Board - The Whole shebang Prompt Board Next day settlement Expert Board All you need re an Individual stock.
The Latest Daily PodCast can be found here http://www.rich.co.ke/rctools/richpod.php
I do thank Dorothy Ooko for the Invitation to the N8 Launch at the Sankara. Thanks Dorothy.
#Aljazeera Inside Story The Robin Hood Tax with Dareen Abughaida http://bit.ly/abX4b1
Supporters of the Robin Hood tax are calling on world leaders gathered in South Korea for the G20 summit to listen to their people rather than to the banks.They argue that banks that were bailed out over the past two years are now back to business as usual but that a global Robin Hood tax would mean the world's banks pay to reduce the deficits they helped to cause, removing the need for austerity measures.But will world leaders heed these calls and is the Robin Hood tax a feasible idea?
Inside Story, with presenter Dareen Abughaida, discusses with guests: Max Lawson, a senior policy adviser at Oxfam and a spokesperson for the Robin Hood Tax Campaign; Simon Hills, an executive director at the British Bankers Association; and Aly Khan Satchu, a financial analyst and CEO of www.rich.co.ke
This episode of Inside Story aired from Thursday, November 11, 2010.
Light Shining in the Dark Continent- one mobile at a time Submitted by Aly-Khan Satchu on Fri, 09/17/2010 http://bit.ly/axUxX1
Martin O-O CEO KCB at #Mindspeak RICH TV http://www.rich.co.ke/rctools/richtv.php
Check it Out -
The Actual Presentation that was projected onto the Screen http://bit.ly/b8oKik
What is #Mindspeak ? http://bit.ly/9mhe39
The Next #Mindspeak is Saturday 27th November and we are hosting Liza Mucheru-Wisner http://lizawisner.com/wordpress/
I thank Alishia for todays Interview on CNBC http://bit.ly/aTKGix
CNBC Interview with Eleni about Safaricom and Bharti Airtel http://bit.ly/d6Htmq
Macro Thoughts
Home Thoughts
We drove around the Nairobi National Park yesterday Evening and it was really very soothing and therapeutic. We came across a Lioness sitting patiently in the Long Grass, watching a Herd of Buffalo.
Children and Warthogs have the right of way Nairobi National Park http://bit.ly/cF6xen
Zebras in the Nairobi National Park http://bit.ly/c5XjzL
I read some Kabir and Jonathan Frantzen over the weekend.
My Kabir Tweets
Songs of #Kabir Between the Poles of the Concious and the Unconcious there has the Mind made a Swing. Songs of #Kabir Thereon hang all Beings and all worlds, and that Swing never ceases it's Sway Songs of #Kabir Millions of Beings are there The Sun and the Moon in their courses are there Millions of ages pass Songs of #Kabir And The Swing goes on. All Swing! The Sky and the Earth and the Air and the Water Songs of #Kabir A beautiful #Legend tells us that after his Death his Mohammedan and Hindu disciples disputed the possession of his Body Songs of #Kabir the Mohammedans wished to bury the Hindus to burn As they argued Kabir appeared before them and told them to lift the Shroud # Songs of #Kabir They found in the place of the Corpse a heap of Flowers Half buried in Maghar and half burned in Benares www.rich.co.ke
Frantzen is a whole different Ball Game compared to Kabir. I always get very embarrassed reading about Sexual Liaisons in Literature but Frantzen is just unbelievable gripping and realistic. |
read more |
|
The Digital Disruption Connectivity and the Defusion of Power Foreign Affairs By Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen Information & Communication Technology |
The advent and power of connection technologies -- tools that connect people to vast amounts of information and to one another -- will make the twenty-first century all about surprises. Governments will be caught off-guard when large numbers of their citizens, armed with virtually nothing but cell phones, take part in mini-rebellions that challenge their authority. For the media, reporting will increasingly become a collaborative enterprise between traditional news organizations and the quickly growing number of citizen journalists. And technology companies will find themselves outsmarted by their competition and surprised by consumers who have little loyalty and no patience.
Today, more than 50 percent of the world's population has access to some combination of cell phones (five billion users) and the Internet (two billion). These people communicate within and across borders, forming virtual communities that empower citizens at the expense of governments. New intermediaries make it possible to develop and distribute content across old boundaries, lowering barriers to entry. Whereas the traditional press is called the fourth estate, this space might be called the "interconnected estate" -- a place where any person with access to the Internet, regardless of living standard or nationality, is given a voice and the power to effect change.
although it remains uncertain exactly how the spread of technology will change governance, it is clear that old solutions will not work in this new era. Governments will have to build new alliances that reflect the rise in citizen power and the changing nature of the state.
Activists and technology geeks are rallying political "flash mobs" that shake repressive governments
RIDING THE TSUNAMI
States in the developing world -- grouped here as "partially connected" nations -- face a different set of opportunities and challenges in incorporating connection technologies. The stakes are especially high for those with weak or failed central governments, underdeveloped economies, populations that are disproportionately young and unemployed, and cultures that lend themselves to opposition and dissent, and also for those contending with outside pressures from large and engaged diasporas living in technologically advanced nations. The sudden influx of connection technologies into these societies will threaten the status quo, leaving fragile governments in potentially unstable positions.
Conclusions
Submitted by Aly-Khan S. (Mar. 28, 2009) on November 13, 2010 - 5:20am.
The Image that comes to My Mind about this New Connected World is one from Gulliver's Travels. Gulliver is the State, Citizens are the Lilliputians and the Connected World is the Net with which the Citizens can re capture their State. We remain in the 'Garage' or 'Start-Up' Phase of this New Dispensation but the Trend is going one way.
However, the Fact remains that the Uber Connectors [Google Twitter Facebook] occupy a very Powerful Position. They are the Custodians of the World's Information and even Market Makers in the same in what is an Information century. It is a Monopolistic Position in a predominantly c21st Information Landscape.
It is naive and disingenuous not to see how The State [China for example] would view Google as inimical to their National Interest/
Aly-Khan Satchu www.rich.co.ke |
read more |
|
Currency Markets at a Glance WSJ World Currencies |
Euro 1.3674 The euro clawed its way up from a six-week low against the dollar Friday Ireland issued multiple denials that it is on the verge of requesting an emergency European Union lifeline. Pound 1.61 Yen 82.91 - has fallen over 2 Big Figures over the last few sessions Aussie 0.9823 Rand 6.9606 Brazil Real 1.7216 India Rupee 45.13
The Dollar looks stretched now but then could stretch some more.
Euro Versus Dollar 3 Month Chart 1.3663 http://bit.ly/bxIoJI |
read more |
|
Soft Commodities at a Glance INO Commodities |
Cocoa -3.58% Coffee -1.82% Cotton -2.84%
Conclusions
Quite a Sell Off last Week. With Sugar brutalised.
Sugar March 2011 INO 26.21 Last http://bit.ly/aIn4QP
Last Price 26.21 Open 29.15 High 29.20 Volume 139,890 Expiration 2011-02-28 Open Int. 247165 Contract High 33.39 Contract High Date 2010-11-11 Contract Low 11.9 First Delivery 2011-05-15
Has fallen 21.05% from 33.39 Levels 11th November in a Brutal Sell Off. |
read more |
|
Africa Crosses 500 Million Mobile Subscriptions Mark Cellular News Information & Communication Technology |
The number of active mobile subscriptions in Africa crossed the half-a-billion mark in 3Q10, to reach 506 million at end-September, according to research by Informa Telecoms & Media. At end-3Q10, Africa accounted for 10% of the world's mobile subscriptions and was one of the world's fastest-growing regions - with the subscription numbers increasing 18% over the year to September - as a result of the still low mobile penetration rate on the continent as well as demand for new services, such as mobile Internet access, that increase the need for telecoms connectivity.
"By 2015, there will be 265 million mobile broadband subscriptions in Africa, a huge increase from the current figure of about 12 million, and accounting for 31.5% of the total of 842 million mobile subscriptions that the continent will have in five years' time, according to forecasts by Informa Telecoms & Media. There will be almost 360 million users of mobile-money services on the continent by 2014."
The rate of household broadband penetration in Africa was just 2.5% in 1Q10.
Africa's first mobile network was launched in Tunisia in 1985, so 2010 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of mobile telephony on the continent.
Conclusions
Plenty of Growth ahead. |
read more |
|
Africa: Coke's Last Frontier Businessweek Retail & Manufacturing |
Piles of trash are burning outside the Mamakamau Shop in Uthiru, a suburb of Nairobi, Kenya. Sewage trickles by in an open trench. Across the street, a worker at a bar gets ready for the lunch rush by scraping the hair off a couple of roasted goat heads. It's about 70 degrees, the sun is beating down, it smells like decay, and it's time for Coke to move some product. Annual per capita consumption of Coca-Cola (KO) in Kenya is 39 servings. In more developed countries like Mexico, which consumes more Coca-Cola than any other country, it runs 665 servings per year. One does not need an MBA to see the possibilities.
Two, in fact, have just walked in. The pair wear short sleeves and jeans. They reach into a refrigerated cooler, grab two Cokes in glass bottles, and pull up two overturned red crates for chairs. Mamakamau Kingori, proprietor, 39, bustles up in a patchwork-quilt apron to take their money. The 500-milliliter sodas cost 30 Kenyan shillings (37 cents) each. As is often the case in Africa, the customers enjoy the drink on the premises, the deposit on the bottles being too dear.
Such a transaction happens about 72 times a day at Mamakamau's, and that has earned her the status of a "Gold" vendor, the highest level awarded by the local bottler. Kingori's sundry store—known locally as a "duka"—also sells plastic buckets and mattresses, and is no larger than a small bedroom. Her Gold status brings benefits, like an introduction to Coke's globally standardized selling techniques. She's urged by Coke to promote combo meals to boost profits, and so red menu signs supplied by the beverage company suggest a 300-milliliter Coke and a ndazi, which is a kind of greasy donut, for 25 Kenyan shillings. Coke also paid for the red refrigerated drink cooler at the entrance to the shop, which is protected by a blue cage. She's told to keep it full to draw attention, and to stock it according to a diagram inside: Coca-Cola always at the top, Fanta in the middle, large bottles on the bottom. At stores down Naivasha Road, and throughout the continent and the rest of the world, Coke fridges are stocked in similar fashion.
Chasing shillings in Nairobi is the sign of both a healthy company expanding its borders and an empire so mature that it must, for its last great push, reach into many of the most war-torn and impoverished countries on earth. Chief Executive Officer Muhtar Kent may not be weeping, like Alexander the Great, at the prospect of having no worlds left to conquer, but with Coke sales stagnant or plodding in most of its developed markets—North Americans bought $2.6 billion worth of Coke in 1989 and just $2.9 billion 20 years later—Coca-Cola will rely on some of the poorest nations to generate the 7 to 9 percent earnings growth it has promised investors. That means, from the dukas of Nairobi to the "tuck shops" of Johannesburg, Africa's mom-and-pop stores are a major front in Coke's growth plan, not only for the flagship soda but also for the company's huge stable of waters, juices, and other soft drinks.
Coke has been in Africa since 1929 and is now in all of its countries; it is the continent's largest employer, with 65,000 employees and 160 plants. Its market share in Africa and the Middle East is 29 percent, which adds up to 9.1 billion liters of beverages a year. Pepsi's share is 15 percent. But now the small shops in the back alleys have become more important, as Coke wagers on Africa finally emerging as a viable market in the next 20 years, riding a hoped-for wave of improving governance and demographics. Coke is now in a street-by-street campaign to win drinkers, trying to increase per-capita annual consumption of its beverages in countries not yet used to guzzling Coke by the gallon. To do so, Coca-Cola is applying lessons learned in Latin America, where an aggressive courtship of small stores helped boost per-capita consumption in Mexico to the highest in the world.
"You've got an incredibly young population, a dynamic population. Huge disposable incomes. I mean, $1.6 trillion of GDP, which is bigger than Russia, bigger than India," he says, leaning into the table. "It's a big economy, and so rich underground. And whether the next decade becomes the decade of Africa or not, in my opinion, will depend upon one single thing—and everything is right there to have it happen—and that is better governance. And it is improving, there's no question."
Conclusions
Opinion Pieces for The Star
11-JAN-2010 Africa's Reasons For 2010 Optimism http://bit.ly/8zQZP7
05-JUL-2010 World Cup Benefits more Than Money http://bit.ly/94jnfx
Wal-Mart could lead corporate America into Africa By Aly-Khan Satchu September 28, 2010 CS Monitor http://bit.ly/9ASLGt
Walmart Bid Boosts Continent On Global Investment Radar AllAfrica http://bit.ly/bwyJhd
Big purchases like Walmart's "were a wake up to the rest of the world that Africa is popping up on the radar screens," said Aly Khan Satchu, a Nairobi-based independent investment analyst. |
read more |
|
Namibia to allow foreign banks to open branches Reuters World Of Finance |
Namibia will allow foreign banks to open branches and also make it easier for the government to increase local ownership of domestic banks, the southern African nation's central bank said.The Bank of Namibia said in a statement on Friday a new amendment would allow "credible foreign banking institutions" to open branches to promote competition in a banking industry dominated by a handful of lenders.
Namibia in July blocked a bid by South Africa's Absa to gain control of a local lender, citing concern about foreign dominance of its financial industry.Only Bank Windhoek, of which Absa had a bid to take a controlling stake, is majority owned by locals.South Africa's Standard Bank, FirstRand and Nedbank, all have majority stakes in Namibian lenders. |
read more |
|
Youssef Nabil’s Cinema New Yorker Photo Booth Misc. |
Youssef Nabil is enamored of the cinema. Growing up in Egypt, he longed for the time before the revolution, an era of elegance and decadence that he had absorbed from Arab movies of the forties and fifties. Nabil shoots his elaborately arranged portraits in black-and-white, and then meticulously hand-colors his prints, each one an original artwork. His palette is rich and varied, reflecting the vibrant films of his youth.Nabil’s earlier work, created shortly after his departure from Egypt, evokes a nostalgia for the cinematic past. He strikes more somber notes in his recent self-portraits: loneliness, longing, death. It comes as no surprise that he also shoots portraits of the movie stars he so much admires. Both sitter and viewer were enthusiastic about his image of Catherine Deneuve, which can be seen in his exhibition at Yossi Milo Gallery.
Rania Cairo 2002.
Catherine Deneuve, Paris, 2010. |
read more |
|
Why Senator Lugar is worried about bioterrorism in East Africa CS Monitor Africa |
Nairobi, Kenya
On one side of the 7-foot brick wall, topped with rusting barbed wire and a four-strand electric fence, lies Africa’s largest slum – a barely policed square mile of tin-roofed shacks that is home to 700,000 people. On the other is Kenya’s premier medical research laboratory, where samples of diseases considered among the biggest threats to humanity – including plague, anthrax, and Ebola – are studied and stored.But not stored safely enough, according to a team of senior Pentagon and congressional officials who visited the facility Friday during an East Africa tour focused on the increasing threat of bioterrorism.
Defense analysts are concerned that security in the region’s laboratories is too weak to withstand the threat from regional terror groups, including Al Qaeda, which are hunting for ingredients for biological weapons.
It’s a “potentially disastrous predicament,” said Sen. Richard Lugar (R) of Indiana, the ranking minority leader of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who led the delegation.
East Africa was high on the list for the post-Soviet focus of the Nunn-Lugar Program “because of the nexus between active terrorist groups, ungoverned spaces, and human and animal health laboratories working on endemic diseases, some of which are rare and exotic," said Andy Weber, assistant to Defense Secretary Robert Gates for nuclear, chemical, and biological defense programs, who was part of the US delegation that visited Uganda and Burundi en route to Kenya.
“We want to make sure that the pathogens that could be used by used terrorists are better secured and that there’s an enhanced capability to monitor infectious disease outbreaks,” added Mr. Weber.
Stolen pathogens, he suggested, could be used by attackers who would circulate in populated areas and try to spread the disease.He said that during his tour Friday of the Kenya Medical Research Institute in Nairobi, there were “a couple of frightening moments, if you use your imagination."Waste from experiments was poorly stored before being incinerated. Cooler boxes of disease samples (although not the most deadly) were stockpiled in corridors. And then there was the cheek-by-jowl proximity of homes just beyond Kemri’s basic perimeter.
“People are literally living up against the wall,” said Lugar, adding that such sensitive facilities are usually far from towns and cities.
“I won’t try to describe all the scenarios which could follow if a malicious human being seized a container of whatever is stored here, but it would not take enormous imagination," he said. “Al Shabab, or Al Qaeda, clearly has a few persons who are specialized in this malice but still lack the raw material to carry out this mission.” Facilities, security are spread thin
Solomon Mpoke, Kemri’s director, conceded that security at his laboratories was “average” and that at times incineration and storage facilities are “overwhelmed."
“To date we’ve not had any threat,” he said. “But what we’re hearing all over the place here, bombs being released here, who knows, the next thing could be a biological threat. We should be worried about that.
“[The Kampala bombings] certainly caused us to place a higher priority in this part of the world than, for example Latin America,” said Weber, the defense secretary's assistant. |
read more |
|
The new black elite: Eating sushi while sitting on a ticking bomb The Guardian Africa |
A wealthy woman riding her Harley Davidson in front of ANC supporters in Johannesburg: While a small proportion of South Africa's black population has become richer in recent years, the majority have remained impoverished. Photograph: Kim Ludbrook/EPA
All this came to mind in the days that followed the rapid rise to infamy of Kenny Kunene, a hitherto little-known businessman and member of the so-called "new black elite". To celebrate his 40th birthday, Kunene threw a party costing more than 700,000 rand, or £63,000, at an exclusive nightclub in Sandton, the wealthiest suburb of Johannesburg. According to the City Press newspaper, "the party was the definition of bling and debauchery" and served 66 bottles of Dom Perignon, 36 bottles of Cristal and 32 bottles of 18-year-old Chivas Regal. The 300 invited guests, instructed to wear all-white ensembles, included Zizi Kodwa, spokesman for President Zuma, and Malema, president of the African National Congress (ANC) youth league.
Kunene, arriving late by limousine, could be seen posing in shades, bow tie and flamboyant white suit, his arms draped around four models smothered in grey paint. But what everyone will remember is the sushi, or rather the manner of its serving. For Kunene's delectation, the rice and raw fish was spread out on the thighs and stomach of a young model wearing only shoes and black lingerie.
Kunene has quickly been dubbed a "sushi king", and this once innocent Japanese delicacy has suddenly become a byword for Gatsby-esque excess. "It is this spitting in the face of the poor and insulting their integrity that makes me sick," said Zwelinzima Vavi, general secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, who is rapidly establishing himself as the voice of the ANC's disappointed friends.
"I am told at one party sushi was served from the bodies of half-naked ladies. It is the sight of these parties, where the elite display their wealth, often secured by questionable methods, that turns my stomach."
But Kunene evidently isn't a man to take such criticism lying down. He wrote Vavi an open letter that retorted: "I should not have to defend what I spend my money on – a huge milestone in my life – when it's honest money spent on honest fun. You remind me of what it felt like to live under apartheid: you are telling me, a black man, what I can and cannot do with my life.
"White people threw big parties every day when I was a poor young black man. They are still throwing parties. There is nothing wrong with that. Many of them are my friends. I look up to many of them. We celebrate success, not doing what many now do, hiding their money in fear of what people like you will say. I want my life to inspire people to go into business, so they can create jobs for others."
He added: "You are narrow-minded and still think that it's a sin for black people to drive sports cars or be millionaires at a young age.
"You make my stomach turn."
There has been widespread condemnation of Kunene for flaunting ostentatious wealth in the world's most unequal society. Figures published this week show that about 1.6% of the South African population earns a quarter of all personal income. Only 41% have a job and just 58% have attended secondary school; 9% don't have access to water, 23% don't have toilets and 24% don't have electricity. Average life expectancy is 52, the lowest since 1970.
Small wonder that last week, at an event organised by the news and comment website the Daily Maverick, I heard Vavi warn: "We are already sitting on a ticking bomb. The poor are already getting restless. They are tired of watching and reading about the elite blacks or whites parading wealth a few kilometres away from where they live in squalor.
"The more we delay intervening, strongly guided by a new growth path that will end poverty, worsening unemployment and inequalities, the more we risk that one day this poor majority will simply walk to the suburbs to demand the same living standards. No walls will be high enough and no electronic fences will be strong enough to stop the overwhelming majority."
Just as Nero is doomed to be remembered for fiddling while Rome burned, which he didn't, and Marie Antoinette for saying "Let them eat cake", which she didn't, so Kunene looks set to go down in shame for consuming sushi, which he did. But what of the model who acted as his sushi board? "I felt safe the entire time," Naledi told the press.
"Nobody came on to me or touched me. And Kenny literally only had one bite to eat." |
read more |
|
We are optimistic about Southern Sudan- KCB East African N.S.E Equities - Finance & Investment |
Despite regional expansion and uncertainty over the Southern Sudan referendum, the KCB Group is optimistic that business can only get better.Chief executive officer Martin Odour-Otieno explained that going by the bank’s huge profits up to the third quarter of this year which has already surpassed 2009, things are looking up for the economy.
The top four banks in Kenya have reported huge profits of more than Ksh6 billion ($75 million) for the period up to September, with KCB making Ksh6.5 billion ($81.25 million).
Mr Otieno said that although businesses are cautious about the Southern Sudan referendum slated for January 2011, the bank has chosen the optimistic path given that it is the most visible financial institution in that region where it has presence in every town.
“We are everywhere in Southern Sudan,” he said, adding that some of their branches are located in the towns where fear is rife that they could flare up during the referendum.
Conclusions
Martin O-O's Video Presentation at Mindspeak here http://www.rich.co.ke/rctools/richtv.php
The Actual Presentation that was shown on the Film Screen is here http://bit.ly/b8oKik
Kenya Commercial Bank 3rd Quarter and share price data www.rich.co.ke http://bit.ly/bshUrU
Par Value: 1/- Closing Price: 22.00 Total Shares Issued: 2,950,259,712 Market Capitalization: 64,906M EPS: 1.84 PE: 11.957
Conclusions
Sub 9.00 Forward PE. |
read more |
|
KenGen's Rights Issue could be put on ice as Cabinet 'rethink' privatisation East African N.S.E Equities - Industrial & Allied |
Uncertainty surrounds the planned sale of 19 per cent shares of state-controlled power utility KenGen to a foreign strategic partner as news begins to filter that the Cabinet had ordered a “rethink” of the rationale behind the whole idea of selling any more shares in strategic infrastructure parastatals to private interests.In a conversation with The EastAfrican, Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi confirmed that the Cabinet had ordered a re-examination of the objectives of privatisation to determine whether sharing ownership of large infrastructure parastatals with foreign investors seeking quick returns was in the long-term interest of the country.
“We have looked at privatisations in the infrastructure sector and are convinced that most strategic investors are risk-averse types who don’t take a long-term view in terms of capital expenditure,” he said.
Mr Kiraitu argued that the government was yet to realise any tangible value from selling 30 per cent of shares in KenGen three years ago.
The full implications of the dramatic policy shift within the Cabinet is still not clear. But it is sure to create major ramifications on the plans to bring in a foreign strategic investor into KenGen.
Indeed, KenGen’s privatisation plans are at an advanced stage. The transaction advisor appointed in August last year to conduct due diligence and advise on both the timing and method of privatisation has already produced an inception report.Chances are that KenGen may well turn out to be another playground for an emerging trend of turf wars between the Treasury and the Ministry of Energy over the country’s energy investment programme.
Conclusions
“I have not not heard anything about the Cabinet decision’, said KenGen’s managing director Edward Njoroge.
KenGen share price data www.rich.co.ke http://bit.ly/1ADZcx
Par Value: 2.50/- Closing Price: 17.10 Total Shares Issued: 2,198,361,344 Market Capitalization: 37,592M EPS: 0.89 PE: 19.213 |
read more |
|
“We have mobile data, the other guys don’t have mobile data,” Collymore Bloomberg N.S.E Equities - Commercial & Services |
Safaricom Ltd., Kenya’s biggest mobile-phone company, plans to capitalize on its lead in 3G infrastructure by selling laptops and offering services to new and existing customers.
The company is the only operator of a third-generation telecommunications network in Kenya. In the first half of its fiscal year, Safaricom became the biggest importer of laptops into the country as it seeks to boost Internet access in the East African country, Chief Executive Officer Bob Collymore said in an interview yesterday in Nairobi.
“We have mobile data, the other guys don’t have mobile data,” Collymore said. “So what we have to do is take advantage of that lead. We think we have about an 18-month lead before they catch up to the point where we are.”
Mobile operators including Safaricom, Bharti Airtel Ltd.’s Kenyan unit and Telkom Kenya Ltd. are becoming more reliant on data for revenue after the industry regulator in August halved the rates that operators charge each other to connect calls across networks to 2.21 shillings. That triggered a round of cuts in call costs by companies to less than 2 shillings per minute and in some cases free calls during off-peak hours.
Operators are betting that increased data traffic will make up for the lower voice revenue and are offering customers laptops, net books or smart phones to attract new clients.
By 2015, there will be 265 million mobile broadband subscriptions in Africa, up from about 12 million at the end of September, according to Informa Telecoms & Media, a London-based research group.
Safaricom imported 40,000 laptops in the six months through September, Collymore said. The company, which yesterday reported a 15 percent increase in first-half profit, also bought 400,000 data-enabled handsets, or smartphones, and sold 45,000 data modems, he said.Customers using Safaricom’s data services surged 92 percent to 3.61 million people in the six months through September from a year earlier, it said yesterday. About 839 base stations, or 37 percent of the total, are enabled to transmit 3G signals, which enable faster Internet browsing and downloading. Safaricom intends to increase that ratio to 50 percent within two years, Collymore said.
In the fiscal year through March 2011, Safaricom plans to spend 23 billion shillings on capital expenditure, Chief Financial Officer Chris Tiffin said during the interview.
“Probably expect about the same level next year,” he said. “About 20 percent of that will be on the 3G network.”
Safaricom will also seek more licenses to provide additional services to its more than 16.7 million customers, Collymore said.
“We will continue looking in the market for more opportunities,” he said. Testing of a 4G network, which will give subscribers faster access to higher-quality Internet content on their mobile phones, began in August. “It will take some time, maybe 18 months before really usable devices become available.”
Safaricom share price data www.rich.co.ke http://bit.ly/4cdZRM
Par Value: 0.05/- Closing Price: 4.75 Total Shares Issued: 40,000,000,000 Market Capitalization: 190,000M EPS: 0.38 PE: 12.500 |
read more |
|
N.S.E Today |
The Nairobi All share closed down 0.27 points at 101.51 and remains up 44% for the Year To Date and the 2nd best performing SSA Stock Index after Uganda. The NSE20 closed down 21.01 points at 4574.28 some 2.784% off its 2010 Closing High level. Market Capitalisation was 1.210977 Trillion versus 1.214211 Trillion last time. Equity Turnover was 352.007m versus 364.576m with EABL the Stand Out and closing at a Fresh All Time High of 219.00. |
|
N.S.E Equities - Agricultural |
Sasini Tea traded 9,700 shares and closed at 13.85. Rea Vipingo traded 30,000 shares and closed at 17.30. Kakuzi traded 2,100 shares and closed at 83.50. |
|
N.S.E Equities - Commercial & Services |
SAFARICOM
shares volume 6,740,700 total turnover 31,842,400 avg price 4.72 closing PRICE 4.70 -1.055% high price 4.80 low price 4.60 last price 4.65
Conclusions
Safaricom traded 5th overall and shaved off 1.055%. The Trailing PE is just under 12.5 and I thought the 1st Half results muscular both from a Defensive Perspective [They lost less than 2% Market Share] and They played strong Offence on the Data side. The Supply is currently Retail and thinning out. I expect the Price to turn higher now.
Kenya Airways traded 3rd at the Bourse. Kenya Airways eased 0.59% to close at 42.00 and traded a 41.50-42.50 range and 893,700 shares worth 37.54m. Kenya Airways traded out the session at 41.50 -1.78%. Kenya Airways made 3.11 1st 6 months and straight lining that gives us 42.00/ 6.22 = Implied Forward PE 6.75. That justifies a close Look.
Kenya Airways share price data from www.rich.co.ke http://bit.ly/ax6Ydy
Par Value: 5/- Closing Price: 42.25 Total Shares Issued: 461,615,488 Market Capitalization: 19,503M EPS: 4.40 PE: 9.602
TPS Serena bounced 1.48% to close at 68.50 and traded 36,000 shares.
Access Kenya was well traded with 484,500 shares traded and Access Kenya closed at 16.95. Access Kenya is down 18.848% on a 1 Year Basis and 16.00 is its 52 week low.
CMC Holdings shaved off 5 cents to close at 13.00 and traded 106,500 shares. CarGen did not trade.
ScanGroup eased 1.4.08% to close at 70.00 and traded 19,400 shares.
Nation Media eased a shilling to close at 167.00 and traded 15,200 shares. Standard firmed 25 cents to close at 45.75 and traded 2,400 shares. |
|
N.S.E Equities - Finance & Investment |
CFC StanBic traded 2nd at the Nairobi Bourse. CFC StanBic was unchanged at 87.50 and traded an 85.00-88.00 range and 449,900 shares worth 39.367m. CFC StanBic has registered a 73.469% 1 Year Return.
StanChart rallied 1.48% to close at 274.00 and traded a 270.00-275.00 range and 41,100 shares worth 11.291m. Equity Bank was unchanged at 26.75 and traded a 26.75-27.00 range and 710,300 shares worth 19.019m. Equity Bank sits just below 27.00 its recent and 27 Month Closing High. KCB eased 1.14% to close at 21.75 and traded a 21.50-22.25 range and 384,300 shares worth 8.445m. The Forward PE is about 8.00 which is very inexpensive versus its Peers and especially Post the Rights Issue which has previously always spiked Earnings and will again. COOP Bank dipped 0.25% to close at 19.95 and traded a 19.95-20.25 range and 571,800 shares. Barclays Bank retreated 0.78% to close at 64.00 and traded a 63.50-65.00 range and 122,100 shares worth 7.869m. Barclays has come off its 25 Month and 2010 Closing High of 70.00.
DTB firmed a shilling to close at 131.00 and was trading at 133.00 +2.31% session highs at the Close. DTB reported Muscular 3rd Quarter Results and traded 115,400 shares worth 15.204m. HFCK eased 0.92% to close at 27.00 and traded 30,300 shares. NBK retreated 1.23% to close at 40.00 and traded 77,700 shares. NIC came off 1.54% to close at 48.00 and traded 37,000 shares.
Centum was unchanged at 23.50 and traded 38,300 shares.
Kenya Re fell back 3.004% to close at 11.30 and traded 64,700 shares. Jubilee eased 0.5% to close at 200.00 and traded 6,000 shares. PanAfric traded 4,600 shares at 70.00 unchanged.
Olympia Capital traded 1,100 shares and closed at 7.05.
|
|
N.S.E Equities - Industrial & Allied |
EABL was the most active share at the Nairobi Bourse. EABL firmed 0.92% to close at 219.00 a New All Time Closing High. EABL traded a 217.00-222.00 range and 222.00 is a new All Time High Intra Day trade Print. EABL traded 342,400 shares worth 75.31m. EABL continues to be sought by Foreign Investors whom I believe are applauding the Expansion in Tanzania and excited by the EABL 'Pure Play' East Africa Exposure.
EABL share price data www.rich.co.ke +63.401% 1 Year http://bit.ly/57wrgL
Par Value: 2/- Closing Price: 217.00 Total Shares Issued: 790,774,336 Market Capitalization: 171,598M EPS: 9.09 PE: 23.872
Sameer Africa fell 3.77% to close at 7.65 and traded 165,200 shares. Sameer Africa issued a Profits Warning Friday after the Market closed and The Warning can be found here.
Sameer Africa Ltd. (Firestone) Scroll Down http://bit.ly/dCsksT http://www.sameer-group.com/ Par Value: 5/- Closing Price: 7.95 Total Shares Issued: 278,342,400 Market Capitalization: 2,213M EPS: 0.57 PE: 13.947
Mumias Sugar traded 6th at the Bourse. Mumias Sugar fell 1.01% to close at 9.80 and traded 2.378m shares worth 23.372m. Mumias Sugar peaked at 15.50 on 5th August this Year and has slumped 36.774% from that Level through November.
The East African carried a report that the Minister of Energy was seeking a Cabinet Level Discussion about Kengen and its Proposed Secondary Tranche of Shares. KenGen eased 2.33% to close at 16.70 and traded 417,900 shares. Kenya Power retreated 0.47% to close at 211.00 and traded 10,900 shares. Investors await Rights Issue Pricing Details which Piece is the only Missing One referencing the Balance Sheet Restructuring. Cables was unchanged at 18.15 and traded 15,200 shares.
KenolKobil closed 0.465% easier at 10.70 and traded 2.165m shares. Total traded 9,000 shares and was unchanged at 30.00.
Bamburi Cement traded 19,000 shares at 202.00 unchanged. Athi River Mining was unchanged at 175.00 and traded 9,900 shares. Portland was unchanged at 114.00 with only a 100 shares trading.
Crown Berger bounced 5.673% to close at 37.25 and traded 9,500 shares.
BAT traded unchanged at 290.00 on light volume of 300 shares.
Carbacid traded 28,600 shares and closed 1.33% easier at 148.00. BOC Kenya did not trade.
Eveready closed 5 cents better at 3.45 and traded 13,200 shares. Unga traded 9,500 shares and was unchanged at 11.80.
|
|
|
|
|