Monthly Archives: May 2006

Standard Chartered AGM

The Bank held it’s 2006 AGM at KICC today.

Proxy-crush:
The line for proxies was longer, and served slower, than that of shareholders causing me to miss half the meeting. In fact, I was turned away when my name was not on the proxy list. As I walked away I remembered something and went to another attendant who found my name on his list – it appears different officers had different lists of proxies!

New Chairman:
Today marked the retirement of Hannington Awori as Chairman and long-serving director of the Bank. He was replaced by Mr. David Njoroge the, well regarded, former auditor general of Kenya. (Wrongly listed at government site as still current)

Shareholder questions:
They were not many questions as two shareholders who feature at most AGM’s, and recently at the Nation’s, took up quite a bit of time with endless comments and praise for the Chairman and performance the Bank.

Others:

  • Why no women directors?
  • Can we have a bonus share to mark the Chairman’s retirement?
  • Why doesn’t bank tailor personal loans for retirees, not just employed people?
  • Why no provision for a 250 million shilling judgment the Bank lost in the courts?

Hot button issue:
The Bank’s CEO had earlier concluded his long speech on the Bank’s year with a video featuring blind runner Henry Wanyoike, a world Paralympics champion – which has now being converted into an advertisement (with a Kenyan theme) that the Bank is showing in 54 countries as a model of partnership.

There had also been mention of the corporate social responsibility activities of the bank through the support of projects totalling 40 million shillings to various community partnerships during the year such as a new 6.5 million shilling bus for the Thika School for the Blind.

Some shareholders were upset about this and, during question time, wanted to know why the bank was spending their money on programs instead of more dividends. Another asked for the bank board to present a budget for such activities before embarking on them without consulting shareholders first. As others lined up for lunch they questioned if 40m was actually spent on projects (Kenyans mistrust and believe there is corruption beneath even good ventures).

Goodies:
Handed out after the meeting was a tote bag with a t-shirt and lunch box from Intercontinental Hotel (sprite can, burger, samosas, apple, drumstick, spring roll). And in a few weeks, a 3.1 shilling per share dividend.

A dollar a day: dream suspended

I have been running Google Adsense advertisements for a few months now and recently received my first $102 check. I have since been chugging along and looking forward to a next cumulative payment of about $150 when I got this e-mail on Saturday:

From : Google AdSense <adsense-adclicks@google.com>
Sent : Saturday, May 27, 2006 12:28 AM
To : bankelele@hotmail.com
CC : Google AdSense <adsense-adclicks@google.com>
Subject : Google AdSense Account Disabled

Hello _____

It has come to our attention that invalid clicks have been generated on the Google ads on your site(s). We have therefore disabled your Google AdSense account. Please understand that this step was taken in an effort to protect the interest of the AdWords advertisers.

A publisher’s site may not have invalid clicks on any ad(s), including but not limited to clicks generated by:

– a publisher on his own web pages
– a publisher encouraging others to click on his ads
– automated clicking programs or any other deceptive software
– a publisher altering any portion of the ad code or changing the
layout, behavior, targeting, or delivery of ads for any reason

Practices such as these are in violation of the Google AdSense Terms and Conditions and program polices, which can be viewed at:

https://www.google.com/adsense/localized-terms?hl=en_US
https://www.google.com/adsense/policies?hl=en_US

Publishers disabled for invalid click activity are not allowed further participation in AdSense and do not receive any further payment. The earnings on your account will be properly returned to the affected advertisers.

Sincerely,

The Google AdSense Team

I immediately appealed by e-mailing Google, and as I await the outcome, I today found this very timely and useful post from Problogger on reasons one can get suspended by the Adsense team.

Diamond Trust AGM

Diamond Trust Bank held their AGM at the Serena Hotel this morning. The uneventful meeting was held in a very cold room, which may have contributed to the short meeting time of 30 minutes excluding shareholder questions.

Shareholder questions

  • Pay more dividends:  Join other companies in the Aga Khan Portfolio (Jubilee, Nation Media, Serena) and pay a more liberal dividend somehow.
  • Increase share capital: Bank said they have increased Tier II capital to support expansion and the board is also looking for more avenues of capital.
  • Not enough Nairobi branches to serve customers: The Bank plans to open another city branch as well as one in Zanzibar to go with recent ones in Dar es Salaam and Arusha. Also, they have partnered with pesa point who have put up almost 120 ATM’s.
  • Few tellers at Nation Centre Branch. Bank has plans to refurbish that Branch, and also Kengen IPO was blamed for the recent congestion there.

Goodies – Bila’s Having no bags or gifts is one way to cut down on attendance, Snacks were offered after the meeting, but patience is not a virtue among shareholders – those at the back of the line found all the samosas and snacks in the hands of those who were first to get served – kind of like the 2005 Total AGM. They probably added more food later but I had to bounce – don’t think I’ll be back next year cheap mo fo’s. At least the press got a one-page handout from a PR firm explaining the bank’s profitability and regional expansion plans.

BAT 2006 AGM

Report by Mwananchi of the British American Tobacco AGM took place at the Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi in late April.

  • They offered FREE parking for those who attended the AGM which was great!
  • The AGM commenced on time but the Chairman read his “Chairman’s Report” which should have been taken as read!
  • There was a short film on BAT’s new logo as well as what they are up to. Partly it seemed great PR considering the regulatory problems they are facing BUT a nice touch!
  • The press was there in full force!
  • The meeting was handled well & not rushed.
  • The registration line was handled speedily & all shareholders got a “chit” that allowed them one bag of freebies with lunch & soda at the conclusion of the AGM. Quite a sight in a 5-star hotel as shareholders spread out with their lunch boxes out on the lawns & corridors of the hotel.

Freebies: Polo shirt & Cap (Pall Mall) with a duffel bag.

Questions/Comments/Suggestions:

  • Frustration at BARS but the queries were handled well by GeorgeM of BARS. BARS handled the registration as well.
  • An excellent suggestion by a shareholder to hold the AGM at the factory similar to Sameer (who pitched a tent in their lawn/garden) to save on costs as well as provide the chance to tour the factory. The chairman responded that the AGM was an affordable indulgence once a year. The MD did agree to allow shareholders to tour “their” factory.
  • I don’t brook idiotic questions & this was from a guy I see at most AGMs I go to & he is a smart guy & should have known better! He asked why shut down Uganda when electricity is cheaper there plus loss of jobs. The matter was addressed in the Annual Report (do people read it?) but the MD indulged him & explained that the Nairobi factory is 10 times larger thus marginal costs are much lower. In addition, Uganda is facing severe electricity rationing thus moving to Kenya was fortuitous.
  • Why don’t Kenyan shareholders have a larger stake? As answered that coz BAT does not want to sell its shares.
  • Bonus/Split. The FD (Lopokoiyit) said it did not benefit BAT & they have been under pressure from various parties (aka brokers) to do so. Listed firms whose shares trade often pay more in fees (A STUPID RULE THAT ONLY BENEFITS CMA, NSE & BROKERS NOT THE LISTED FIRMS – VituVingiSana).
  • BAT will continue paying high dividends in lieu of bonuses but the Board will consult on the matter. They shot it down in the last Board Meeting
  • Regulatory concerns were brought up by shareholders. BAT is working on trying to ensure a “fair” bill is passed by lobbying the powers that be. As a side note (my observation) that includes junkets for MPs to luxury hotels at the Coast! The usual suspects were there trying to get themselves on tape/TV…

Also
An alternate view of the company in light of recent legislation restricting smoking in Kenya.

Nairobi Jobs

International HIV/Aids Finance Coordinator at Action Aid International (AAI). Apply to ihvf.jhb@actionaid.org

East African Breweries
– Group head business performance management
– Group performance insight manager
– Tax & insurance accountant
– Group strategy manager
Apply to the Head of HR, P O Box 30161 by June 9

East African Development Bank
– Regional business development manager
– Senior risk management and control officer
Deadline is June 16.

Various engineering types at Inteq, an oil & gas services company. Apply to inteq.engineers@inteq.com.

Oracle application database administrator at Jubilee insurance. Apply to personnel@jubileekenya.com by 2 June.

Various jobs at Safaricom. See http://www.safaricom.co.ke for details.

Trust Fund Manager at UNDP Somalia in Nairobi. Apply to registry.so@undp.org by May 28.

Nursing
Opportunities opening for nurses as the US plans to remove the limit of annual visa for nurses allowed into the country.

Senior government jobs
MD of National Housing Corporation. Apply to the chairman P O Box 30257 Nairobi by June 5.

MD of Kenya Broadcasting Corporation. Apply to the chairman, P O Box 30456 by 12 June.

Postmaster general at Postal Corporation of Kenya. Apply to the chairman P O Box 34567 by 12 June.

MD JKUAT enterprises apply to the chairman JKUAT P O Box 62000-00200 by 7 June.

Also at JKUAT, Deputy VC administration planning & development. Apply to vc@jkuat.ac.ke by June 20.

Internships
From Young African Professionals: Summer Internship at The African Investment Corporation (AiC) . Apply to info@africaninvestcorp.com by June 5.

Corporate trainees at Safari Park Hotel. Apply to the HR & admin manager P O Box 45038-00100 by 12 June.