Category Archives: hedge funds

Financial Friday

Earlier results showed that tax collection is not profitable, but neither is dealing with the strong shilling.

The Central Bank of Kenya year ended June 2007 shows the bank recorded a 386 million shillings loss down from a 4.5 billion profit in 2006. This was largely due to a forex loss of lost 9.8 billion shillings as the shilling remained strong against the US dollar, Euro and Sterling pound.

How much currency is circulating in Kenya? 90 billion shillings ($1.34 billion), in currency up from 76 billion in June 2006.

Bank in law
You don’t start a marriage by locking out the in-laws, but that’s what’s happening with CFC Stanbic as CFC stockbrokers have suspended trades in Stanbic Uganda shares to clear up a backlog of orders.

Shares vs. Holiday vs. Election expenses
The much anticipated Safaricom IPO edges into danger zone as the IPO could be pushed back to start on December 10th, not the 3rd.

Hedge funds to Africa
There was the Equity – Helios deal announced this week.

Another prime opportunity would be for a hedge fund to invest in Transcentury

PSD blog puts the new investment interest in Africa in a historical perspective with China and other Asian countries recognizing an opportunity to stake out the long term

Hedge Funds a year ago

Hedge Funds to Africa

Excerpts from a China news report: Some hedge funds are turning to resource-rich sub-Saharan Africa for investment, a fact reflecting an upward trend in some of the region’s economies and the growth of hedge funds and their search for new frontiers, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

Citigroup is now trading securities from countries such as Kenya, Botswana, Tanzania, Uganda and Ghana for its clients. Within a few years, it has gone from trading in only two countries in sub-Saharan Africa to 12.

Banks wanted

Standard Bank (aka Stanbic) is seeking mid-size retail banks in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and Angola, in addition to investing heavily in its own operations in Kenya to grow them at 25 percent a year,

Stanbic is Kenya’s 12th largest bank and its assets grew by 36% in the half-year.

Great image from airliners.net