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SDGs, Kenya's Youth Bulge and potential for a demographic dividend as
well as achieving universal health coverage in Kenya.

Mr. Siddharth Chatterjee UNDP Resident Representative & United Nations
Resident Coordinator
Siddharth Chatterjee “Sid” is the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) Resident Representative and the United Nations (UN) Resident
Coordinator for Kenya with effect from 26 August 2016.
Until this appointment, Sid has been serving as the UNFPA
Representative for Kenya and from January 2016, he also served as the
UN Resident Coordinator a.i. for Kenya. At UNFPA, Sid and his team
spearheaded efforts to reduce the unacceptably high maternal deaths in
Kenya putting the spotlight on the challenges faced by adolescent
girls, including child marriage, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and
sexual and gender based violence.
Before he joined UNFPA in 2014, he served as the Chief Diplomat and
Head of Strategic Partnerships and Resource Mobilization at the
International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
(IFRC) since 2011. Previously he has served in the UN since January
1997. Most of his career has been spent working in fragile states and
complex emergencies. From 2009 to 2010, he was Regional Director for
the Middle East, Europe and Central Asian Republics at the United
Nations Office of Project Services. He was Chief of Staff to the
Special Representative of the Secretory General for the UN Mission in
Iraq. He has also served in leadership positions in UNICEF offices in
Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan (Darfur), Indonesia and with the UN Peace
Keeping Operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iraqi Kurdistan.
A TED x speaker, Sid writes extensively on humanitarian and
development issues in a variety of journals such as CNN, Al Jazeera,
Forbes, the Guardian, the Huffington Post, Reuters, the Global
Observatory and mainstream Kenyan and Indian journals. He was recently
profiled by Forbes magazine in an article titled, “Passionate Leader
of UNFPA Kenya Battles Violence against Women, FGM and Child
Marriage.”
He holds a Masters degree in Public Policy from the Woodrow Wilson
School for Public and International Affairs at Princeton University
and a Bachelor of Sciences from the National Defense Academy in India.
Sid is married and they have a son.

Macro Thoughts

Home Thoughts

Risk of domino effect as powerful states backtrack on human rights commitments
Salil Shetty, head of the global movement, warns that “never again”
has become meaningless as states fail to react to mass atrocities
Politicians wielding a toxic, dehumanizing “us vs them” rhetoric are
creating a more divided and dangerous world, warned Amnesty
International today as it launched its annual assessment of human
rights around the world.
The report, The State of the World’s Human Rights, delivers the most
comprehensive analysis of the state of human rights around the world,
covering 159 countries. It warns that the consequences of “us vs them”
rhetoric setting the agenda in Europe, the United States and elsewhere
is fuelling a global pushback against human rights and leaving the
global response to mass atrocities perilously weak.
“President Trump’s policies have brought the US to a level of human
rights crisis that we haven’t seen in years,” said Margaret Huang,
Executive Director of Amnesty International USA. “As the world braces
itself for a new executive order, thousands of people inside and
outside of U.S. borders have had their lives thrown into chaos as a
result of the president’s travel ban. This administration, like other
governments across the world, is playing politics with people’s lives.
President Trump and leaders across the globe should be reaffirming and
upholding international human rights protections, not exploiting fear
and prejudice for their own agendas.”
“2016 was the year when the cynical use of ‘us vs them’ narratives of
blame, hate and fear took on a global prominence to a level not seen
since the 1930s. Too many politicians are answering legitimate
economic and security fears with a poisonous and divisive manipulation
of identity politics in an attempt to win votes,” said Salil Shetty,
Secretary General of Amnesty International.
“Divisive fear-mongering has become a dangerous force in world
affairs. Whether it is Trump, Orban, Erdoğan or Duterte, more and more
politicians calling themselves anti-establishment are wielding a toxic
agenda that hounds, scapegoats and dehumanizes entire groups of
people.
“Today’s politics of demonization shamelessly peddles a dangerous idea
that some people are less human than others, stripping away the
humanity of entire groups of people. This threatens to unleash the
darkest aspects of human nature.”
“Instead of fighting for people’s rights, too many leaders have
adopted a dehumanizing agenda for political expediency. Many are
violating rights of scapegoated groups to score political points, or
to distract from their own failures to ensure economic and social
rights,” said Salil Shetty.
“In 2016, these most toxic forms of dehumanization became a dominant
force in mainstream global politics. The limits of what is acceptable
have shifted. Politicians are shamelessly and actively legitimizing
all sorts of hateful rhetoric and policies based on people’s identity:
misogyny, racism and homophobia.
“The first target has been refugees and, if this continues in 2017,
others will be in the cross-hairs. The reverberations will lead to
more attacks on the basis of race, gender, nationality and religion.
When we cease to see each other as human beings with the same rights,
we move closer to the abyss.

Donald Trump has laid the groundwork for potentially deporting
millions of undocumented immigrants by issuing new guidance that
drastically broadens the ways in which federal immigration laws should
be enforced.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unveiled two memos on
Tuesday detailing wide-ranging directives focused on both interior
enforcement and cracking down on security along the US-Mexico border.

The memorandums would enable federal authorities to more aggressively
detain undocumented immigrants, expand the pool of immigrants
prioritized for removal from the country, and restrict asylum claims
by migrants.

The memos set out that any immigrant living in the US illegally who
has been charged or convicted of any crime – and even those suspected
of a crime – will now be an enforcement priority. That could include
people arrested for shoplifting or minor traffic offenses.

But the memos provide Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (Ice)
agents with the ability to effectively target any undocumented migrant
who has either been convicted of any sort of crime, has simply been
accused of a crime, has carried out minor fraud or is, in the
assessment of an Ice officer, “a risk to public safety”. This
expansion of deportation priorities is at odds with the Obama
administration’s policy, which commenced in 2014, of targeting the
removal only of those convicted of serious crimes.

The department will now be allowed to target any undocumented
immigrant who has been in the country up to two years for “expedited
removal” – meaning a removal that does not need to be authorized by
the court. Under the Obama administration, such removals were only to
be applied to those in the country for up to two weeks and who had
been apprehended within 100 miles of the US border.

Euro 1.0544
Dollar Index 101.33
Japan Yen 113.44
Swiss Franc 1.0092
Pound 1.2501
Aussie 0.7692
India Rupee 66.945
South Korea Won 1141.45
Brazil Real 3.0956
Egypt Pound 15.7717
South Africa Rand 13.1104

Commodities

kilogram of Indian sandalwood oil now sells for about $3,000, or about
five times as much as silver, and prices are rising by at least 20 to
25 percent a year, according to the South India Sandalwood Products
Dealers & Exporters Association.

That makes the mature trees on the Australian plantations run by TFS
Corp. and KKR & Co.-backed Santanol Group worth about $1,500 apiece.

Emerging Markets

Frontier Markets

Sub Saharan Africa

I am left thinking, this dead Gaddafi business is one powerful
message. And today Marshall McLuhan’s prediction in The Gutenberg
Galaxy (1962) that ‘The new electronic interdependence recreates the
world in the image of a global village’ has come to pass. The image of
a bloodied Gaddafi, then of a dead Gaddafi in a meat locker have
flashed around the world via the mobile, YouTube and Twitter.

Who is in charge of the messaging? Through the fog of real time and
raw footage, I note a very powerful message. The essence of that
message being;

‘Don’t Fxxk with us! Be- cause you will end up dead and a trophy
souvenir in a fridge.’

That same person is probably repeating Muammar’s comment, “I tell the
coward crusaders: I live in a place where you can’t get me. I live in
the hearts of millions.”

And asking ‘Really? Are You? Or are you now very dead and in a meat locker?’

A macabre tussle over the body of Etienne Tshisekedi, who for 40 years
was the unifying force of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s
opposition, threatens to unravel the country’s fragile political
truce.

Tshisekedi’s death has thrown into confusion a New Year’s eve
agreement that eased a political crisis and is supposed to lead to
President Joseph Kabila’s stepping-down after elections due later this
year. Under the shaky deal, the government and opposition are to
establish a transitional administration to rule until the polls are
held, though it has been undermined by squabbles over the selection of
a prime minister.

Tatiana Carayannis, an expert on the DRC, said Tshisekedi’s death had
now thrown the whole transition process into doubt.

“This could not have come at a worse time. It is delaying any possible
implementation of the deal,” she said.

Relatives of Tshisekedi, who died in Brussels more than two weeks ago,
are demanding that his body be flown to the DRC and buried in a
mausoleum in central Kinshasa, the capital. Mr Kabila, who has ruled
the mineral-rich but desperately poor nation since 2001, has pushed
back. The body remains stuck in Belgium, amid speculation that the
government fears his funeral would become a rallying point for the
opposition.

Felix Tshisekedi, who is the opposition’s choice for prime minister in
the transitional administration, described his father as Congo’s
“national patrimony” deserving of full funereal honours. He told a
press conference in Brussels last week that he wanted the government
to guarantee security for a funeral that is likely to attract tens of
thousands of mourners — predominantly opposition supporters — in a
city where Mr Kabila is loathed by many.

“We don’t want the funeral to turn into a bloodbath,” Felix Tshisekedi
said, alluding to the security forces’ record of shooting protesters.

Ms Carayannis, who is deputy director at the Social Science Research
Council in New York, said she did not expect Tshisekedi’s body to
return to Congo “any time soon.”

“Kabila can’t afford the crowds that would gather to greet his body,” she said.

The longer the stand-off over Tshisekedi’s body lasted, Ms Carayannis
said, the longer Mr Kabila could stall.

“The body is the backdrop to this game of political football,” she said.

Mr Kabila is also likely to resist opposition attempts to nominate
Felix Tshisekedi as prime minister, analysts said, because of the
power of his family name.

Moise Katumbi, the only opposition figure with money and a national
profile, has threatened to return from exile with Tshisekedi’s body.
However, should he come home he faces arrest on what supporters say
are trumped-up charges.

Jason Stearns, author of Dancing in the Glory of Monsters, a book
about Congo, said he had stopped counting the number of times Mr
Katumbi had pledged to fly home.

“The two biggest opposition figures were Tshisekedi and Katumbi,” Mr
Stearns said. “Now Tshisekedi is dead and Katumbi is in exile. That
really leaves the opposition pretty weakened.”

“The revolutionary contingent attains its ideal form not in the place
of production, but in the street, where for a moment it stops being a
cog in the technical machine and itself becomes a motor (machine of
attack), becomes in other words a producer of speed.’’

I flicked the channels and came across a report from the Congo, where
opposition presidential hopeful Moise Katumbi had been leading the
street against a third term for Kabila. ‘’Birthday-Boy’’ President
Joseph Kabila is constitutionally barred from running for a third
term, and Katumbi has set out his stall now and is a formidable
adversary. In fact, the numbers were building and Katumbi must have
been thinking this might just turn into a Tsunami. President Kabila,
however, out- witted Katumbi by removing him from the street and the
Congo entirely.  is might well prove a cleverly administered technical
knock-out. Of course, the precursor was the Burkina uprising in
Ouagadougou in 2014 which terminated ‘’beautiful’’ Blaise Compare.
the street is a tinderbox and it has become a major area of
(political) contestation across the continent.

Liquidity Stress, Low Growth, and Political Risk Drive Negative 2017
Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa Sovereigns
a third of the region's sovereigns were downgraded in 2016.
Our outlook for sovereign creditworthiness in 2017 in Sub-Saharan
Africa (SSA) is negative overall, reflecting our expectations for
the fundamental credit conditions that will drive sovereign credit in
this region over the next 12-18 months.1 The main driver of the
negative outlook is the liquidity stress facing commodity-dependent
sovereigns due to recurrent fiscal deficits and challenging funding
conditions. Other drivers include subdued growth and persistent
domestic political risks, which can exacerbate liquidity risk in
countries that rely on or need external support. However, policy
impetus will sustain rapid growth in a few countries. We also expect
government debt levels to stabilize amid fiscal consolidation,
although socio-economic challenges in some countries will complicate
this task.
By 31 December 2016, we had downgraded a third of the region's 19
rated sovereigns (see Exhibit 2) by an average of around two notches.
The oil price shock had a negative impact on oil exporters given
limited policy flexibility because of low fiscal and external buffers,
as well as weak institutions. This led us to downgrade Nigeria (B1
stable) and Gabon (B1 negative) by one notch each. We downgraded
Angola (B1 negative) and the Republic of the Congo (ROC, B3 negative)
by two notches given their greater dependence on oil.
Declining foreign exchange reserves, depreciating currencies, and
fiscal imbalances resulted in severe liquidity strains and reduced
debt sustainability in Mozambique (Caa3 negative) and Zambia (B3
negative), two commodity-dependent countries.
We stabilised the rating outlook on Ghana (B3 stable) after the
government allayed near-term liquidity pressure by issuing a $750
million Eurobond to roll over a $400 million Eurobond maturing in
October 2017. Risks have also declined as the fiscal deficit narrows,
the balance of payments outlook improves and institutional reforms
advance under an IMF programme.
We also downgraded Uganda (B2 stable), a non-commodity-exporting
country, because its fiscal strength had eroded in recent years due to
a rising debt burden.
The overall 2017 outlook for the African banking sector is stable
For Moody's rated African countries, the credit rating agency projects
average GDP growth of 1.9% in 2016, rising to around 3.5% in 2017.
Growth will be supported by domestic demand, stabilizing oil and
commodity prices (albeit at low levels), structural reforms, and
competitiveness gains. However operating conditions will remain
challenging, affected by Africa's undiversified economies, high
inflation, and cuts in government spending.
Moody's expects credit growth of around 10% in 2017, while longer-term
growth prospects remain robust, supported by mobile technology which
is fuelling financial inclusion, rising banking penetration and a
deepening of local capital markets.
African Export-Import Bank's ratings upgraded to Baa1 from Baa2
On 19 January 2017, the European Union (EU) provided Zambia (B3
negative) with a €65 million grant to support expanding the nation’s
electricity network. This credit-positive expansion will provide
electricity to some 300,000 people in 63,000 households, as well as
micro, small and midsize enterprises in Zambia’s capital city of
Lusaka, and encourage inclusive economic growth.
Railway Opening Gives Landlocked Ethiopia Access to Red Sea, a Credit Positive
On 17 January 2017, the Djibouti-Ethiopia railway fully opened, giving
landlocked Ethiopia (B1 stable) a much-needed route to the Red Sea.
The 756 kilometer railway connects Ethiopia’s capital Addis- Ababa to
the port of Doraleh in neighboring Djibouti (unrated). The railway
quickens freight delivery from Addis Ababa to the Red Sea to just 12
hours from three days and is a more reliable delivery method compared
with roads.
To some extent, the railway, which is Africa’s first electrified
standard gauge railway, removes one of the largest constraining
factors on Ethiopia’s economy. Transport is a vital factor for trade
growth within Africa, and Ethiopia’s transportation infrastructure is
especially weak: the new railway replaces a 1917 railway that went out
of service during the last decade. Even compared to its African peers,
Ethiopia is consistently in the bottom five of the African
Infrastructure Development Index of 54 nations.

Wildlife prices are tumbling in South Africa, as game breeders are
squeezed by restrictions imposed on trophy hunting following the
killing of Cecil the lion in 2015, and the worst drought on record
forced farmers to sell animals.

The average price of a buffalo bull fell 71 percent, to 95,704 rand
($7,336), in 2016 and is now a fraction of the record 2.1 million rand
set in 2013, according to Vleissentraal, an auction house.

“There has been an onslaught on the trophy hunting industry and that
has fed through to prices,” said Peet van der Merwe, a professor of
wildlife and tourism at South Africa’s North West University. “The
drought has also hurt farmers, many of whom had to sell stock.”

Prices of specially-bred color variants also fell last year. The
average golden wildebeest bull sold for 395,363 rand, a drop of 61
percent from 2015, according to Vleissentraal. Black impala rams
plunged 78 percent, and even lower-value so-called plains game such as
kudu tumbled 64 percent. Wildebeest are usually dark gray and impalas
are more commonly reddish brown.

@JDMahama "Leave When the Applause is the Loudest." 3mins
https://youtu.be/hAjZxYLcgHU

(CNN)Smartphone payments are gaining ground in the US, but mobile
money is old news in Kenya.
The majority of the East African country's population is subscribed to
a mobile payment service, and the most popular choice is M-Pesa, which
celebrates its 10th anniversary in March 2017.
M-Pesa -- "pesa" means "money" in Swahili -- has made a dramatic
impact over this time.
The system was launched by Vodafone's Safaricom mobile operator in
2007 as a simple method of texting small payments between users. Today
there are 30 million users in 10 countries and a range of services
including international transfers, loans, and health provision. The
system processed around 6 billion transactions in 2016 at a peak rate
of 529 per second.
M-Pesa is also lauded for its social value; offering opportunities for
small businesses, and playing a significant role in reducing poverty.
There have been bumps in the road -- the service was withdrawn from
South Africa after poor performance -- but M-Pesa's first decade has
been a success story.
New challenges
The next decade will bring new challenges for the mobile payment system.
Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore says it a priority to refine the user
experience and offer new services.
Interview: Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore
Interview: Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore 03:47
"One of the big problems has been the relative clumsiness of using
M-Pesa," he told CNN.
New streamlined solutions include a debit card that will allow users
to tap and pay, and a new mobile app.
The service will face stronger competition in the coming years. The
Kenya Bankers Association -- representing 46 banks -- is introducing
its own mobile payment platform that will allow convenient transfers
between accounts at different banks, and the group hopes this will eat
into M-Pesa's market share.
"Given the economics of the product, I think you'll find customers
moving over and preferring to use our product," says Habil Olaka, CEO
of the Kenya Banker's Association.
Look after the pennies
The Safaricom CEO says he welcomes the banks' intervention as he
believes it will drive innovation and benefit the consumer.
"We always used to say that cash is the enemy," says Collymore.
"Holding cash doesn't make sense. As soon as you put it in the
mattress, it loses value."
"We are not attacking the banks; we're working with the banks...If
other people are finding solutions for problems, then that's also
cool."
But financial analyst Aly-Khan Satchu of Rich Management believes that
competitors will struggle to displace a service that has put down deep
roots.
"Are the (banks) going to be able to dislodge M-Pesa? I'm not so sure.
It's ubiquitous, it's everywhere," he says. "I think they're going to
struggle."
Perhaps in recognition of this challenge, Olaka says the Bankers'
Association will be targeting payments that exceed M-Pesa's maximum
transaction of 70,000 Kenyan Shillings ($675).
Collymore is happy to maintain focus on the other end of the market.
Micro-payments drove M-Pesa to a position of dominance and the CEO has
faith that the same model can sustain success into a second decade.
"We target the one shilling," he says. "The banking sector across the
world has always ignored the so-called base of the pyramid. We haven't
because we understand that the base of the pyramid needs to be served
and there's also commercial viability in doing that."

Tiger was previously bullish about the Haco partnership, but has over
the past two years soured on the investment, starting with the
discovery of what Tiger said was an R106 million (Sh845 million) fraud
at the company in 2015.
The accounting fraud that came in the form of pulling forward sales
and falsification of stocks, cost the multinational R50 million (Sh400
million) at group level as the subsidiary sunk into an undisclosed
loss in the year ended September 2015.

Amethis Finance together with its partners have acquired a 40 per cent
stake in East African packaged food business Kenafric Industries.

Kenafric Group was founded in 1987 by Velji Punja Shah and his four
sons and has grown to emerge as a major FMCG group in East Africa,
having diversified into confectionery, footwear, culinary and
stationery manufacturing.

“This transaction is limited to the confectionery and culinary
business and the Shah family will continue to operate the footwear and
stationery business separately.” said Amethis Finance in a statement
sent to Kenyan Wall street.

Kenafric sells around 45 per cent of its production outside Kenya
having reached a critical size and now intends to expand into a
regional packaged food platform.

“The fragmented East African market offers an opportunity for
acquisitions and strategic partnerships. The stated aim is to be able
to supply the entire range of snacking products in a kiosk through
adjacencies and brand extensions. Kenafric, Amethis and Metier have
been working together on an acquisitions pipeline.”

Conclusions

Lots of M and A activity of late

Johannesburg-based Capitalworks has bought out Aon interests in Aon
Kenya, a firm which offers insurance brokerage services as well as
human resource consulting.
The buyout was part of an acquisition spanning 10 Aon units in Africa
including Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Angola, Lesotho,
Namibia, Swaziland, and Zambia.

- Three prominent Kenyans with significant public and private sector
experience appointed to the Base Titanium Board.
- The new board members bring a wealth of experience from successful
business careers in the East African market.
- Represents a significant step in the shaping of Base Titanium as a
truly Kenyan mining company.
Base Titanium Limited (“Base Titanium”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Australian and UK-listed Base Resources Limited (“Base Resources”),
today announced the appointment of three additional members to its
Board of Directors. These new members, in investment banker John
Ngumi, prominent lawyer Desterio Oyatsi and financial market analyst,
advisor and commentator Aly-Khan Satchu, bring vast experience from
the private and public sectors and detailed knowledge of the East
African business environment.
They join existing Chairman Professor Joseph Maitha and Base Resources
Executive Directors Tim Carstens and Colin Bwye on the expanded Board.
In announcing the new board members, Tim Carstens said, “I am
delighted to welcome such an eminent panel of Kenyan thought leaders
to the Board of Base Titanium. Their knowledge and experience in the
Kenyan investment and regulatory environment will deepen Base
Titanium’s ability to understand the Kenyan context, influence
discussion and deliver on its strategic plans to the benefit of all
stakeholders.”
The new Board members will work to enhance Base’s relations with the
Government of Kenya and will play strong role in promoting the Kenyan
mining sector, both domestically and internationally.
The new Board members join Base Titanium at an exciting time. The
Kwale Mine operations are performing strongly and safely, there is
ongoing transition to a Kenyan workforce with 96% of those employed
now Kenyan and 64% from the local community and commodity markets are
showing encouraging signs of improvement. Importantly, Base has
recently embarked on a near-mine exploration program that seeks to
extend the life of the Kwale Mine and continue its significant
contribution to the Kenyan and local economy.
-END-
About the appointees
John Ngumi
John Ngumi has played a leading role in the development of Kenya’s and
East Africa’s debt and equity capital markets over the last 25 years,
most recently during his tenure as Director, Investment Banking
Coverage at Standard Bank in Nairobi. Mr Ngumi is the current Chairman
of the Board at Kenya Pipeline Company Limited and previously held the
position of the first Chairman of Konza Techno City Development
Authority.
Desterio Oyatsi
Desterio Oyatsi is an accomplished Nairobi-based lawyer, an Advocate
of the High Court and Managing Partner of Shapley, Barret & Company
Advocates, a leading law firm in Kenya. Mr Oyatsi sits on several
Boards and is currently Chairman of Metropolitan Life Insurance Kenya
Limited and the Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) group. He has
previously served as a director in various other organizations
including Telkom Kenya and the Capital Markets Authority.
Mr Oyatsi has been involved as an advisor with the Kwale mineral sands
project since its inception, particularly in negotiations with the
relevant Government agencies for the legal instruments and rights upon
which the project operates and as a member of the Resettlement &
Compensation Committee which oversaw the successful resettlement and
compensation of the local community.
Aly-Khan Satchu
Aly-Khan Satchu is the Chief Executive Officer of Rich Management
Limited, a Nairobi-based investment advisory firm. Prior to
establishing Rich Management, Mr Satchu worked for 15 years in
London’s financial sector. During his time in London Mr Satchu served
as the Executive Director of Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, Managing
Director of Sumitomo Bank and as Treasurer and Director of ANZ
Investment Bank. Born in Mombasa, Mr Satchu returned to Kenya in 2006.
He is also a regular commentator on economic matters in local and
international media.
About Base Titanium
Base Titanium Limited (“Base Titanium”) is a wholly-owned subsidiary
of Australian and UK-listed Base Resources Limited (ASX; AIM: BSE).
Its flagship development is the Kwale Mine in Kenya located 50km south
of Mombasa.

Nairobi All Share Bloomberg -6.31% 2017
http://www.BLOOMBERG.COM/quote/NSEASI:IND

Nairobi ^NSE20 Bloomberg -6.96% 2017 [5 week closing High]
http://j.mp/ajuMHJ

2,964.48 +19.15 +0.65%

Tiger Brands announced they had sold their 51% stake in Haco
Industries back to Chris Kirubi.
PE Firm Amethis Finance announced it had acquired a 40% stake in
Kenya's Kenafric Industries' packaged food business.
The Tempo of Buy Outs and Investments has accelerated in 2017
[Sadolin, Java and others refer]
The Nairobi All Share firmed +0.46 points to close at 125.39.
The Nairobi NSE20 Index rallied +18.72 points to close at 2983.20.
The market has rebounded in February and I remain of the view that we
saw the Low for the year in 2017
Equity Turnover reached 794.936m most of which was transacted in Safaricom.

Safaricom was the most actively traded share at the Exchange and
closed unchanged at 18.00 with 31.34m shares [top 5 volume session in
2017] worth 564.126m. In early January, Safaricom bounced violently
higher from these levels on good volume action. Looks like a Replay.
The Price sits -6.00% in 2017 and some of that recent down-draft was
correlated to the arrival of the Kenya Bankers Switch. M-Pesa is
ubiquitous and whilst the Switch will nibble at the edges [and the
wholesale segment], I expect M-Pesa to maintain growth close to its 5
year CAGR.

CNN reported on the 10 Year Anniversary of M-Pesa and quoted Habil
Osaka who said ''the Bankers' Association will be targeting payments
that exceed M-Pesa's maximum transaction of 70,000 Kenyan Shillings
($675). Collymore is happy to maintain focus on the other end of the
market. Micro-payments drove M-Pesa to a position of dominance and the
CEO has faith that the same model can sustain success into a second
decade.

"We target the one shilling," he says. "The banking sector across the
world has always ignored the so-called base of the pyramid. We haven't
because we understand that the base of the pyramid needs to be served
and there's also commercial viability in doing that."

Kenya Airways rallied a further +5.98% to close at a 2 month high of
6.20. Kenya Airways traded 555,700 shares and has rallied an
eye-popping +25.25% this week and is now +5.98% in 2017. Key Chart
resistance is at 7.10 a break of which would be an unabashedly
positive price signal.

Standard Group was high ticked +9.21% to close at 20.75 on just 1,000 shares.

Standard Chartered rallied +2.01% to close at a 2017 High of 203.00.
StanChart is +7.407% in 2017 and the only listed Bank share in
positive Territory in 2017. The Signal is contained in the Price
Action.
KCB Group rallied +3.092% to close at 25.00 and was trading at 25.50
+5.50% at the finish line. Yesterdays News of a resizing of the
workforce was well received as being pre-emptive and a net positive
for Shareholders. I expect KCB to surprise on the Dividend Pay-Out.
Barclays Bank Kenya closed unchanged at 8.30 and traded 1.519m shares
ahead of its FY16 Earnings Release this afternoon.

KenGen closed unchanged at 6.55 and traded good volume of 6.308m
shares. KenGen is +12.93% in 2017 and some-one has hoovered up all the
Supply up to this price point.

KenolKobil firmed +0.7299% to close at 13.80 and traded 3.167m shares
worth 43.861m. KenolKobil is -7.38% in 2017 and is a value proposition
at this level.