As the logistics and numbers of the 2010 World Cup become clearer, and after my brief trip to South Africa, it’s time to re-evaluate financial plans for the Cup and specifically take a fresh look at UAP who are the only company to so far come up with a targeted finance product.
I had looked at the UAP Insurance plan earlier and dismissed/rejected it on the basis of its marginal return. E.g. investing 5,000 shillings per month over next 42 months would give about 233,000 shillings at an assured internal rate of return of about 6%. However, of that, my own savings would be about 210,000 shillings (90%) while UAP would have chipped in only about 10%.
However it is important to note, and they state this in the 2010 product, that the package is a savings plan toward the World Cup, and not an investment plan and it is therefore wrong to compare the plan to an investment fund or unit trust.
The main benefits of saving with UAP come not from the investment return, but from their in-built package which includes discounted air tickets, discounted accommodation and a chance to (save &) travel with other Kenyans fans who could also be your friends. UAP will also bid for some of the limited numbers of tickets that will be made available here (from the quota allocated to Kenya) thus providing some assurance that the match tickets can be obtained beforehand at FIFA-recommended prices and not from scalpers at the last minute.
During my week in South Africa, in which the conference paid for hotel, air travel and some meals I still used about shillings 6,000 on upkeep, some meals, gifts, beers, newspapers etc. Accommodation at the hotel (bed and breakfast) – next to Johannesburg Airport was about 6,000 shillings and a roundtrip air ticket would probably have cost about 40,000 shillings. Food in SA was reasonable at about 300 per meal, but there were some unexpected bills like currency exchange which sometimes cost 300 or 600 shillings each.
All this makes UAP package 2010 World Cup South Africa plan look pretty attractive for a similar trip to SA four years from now. Or I could stay home and watch the games on DSTV or some local TV channel, but I’d rather be there in person.
Did you go their News Cafe… Nice place… good food at reasonable prices & free WiFi for 1 hour a day!
I see the logic coz you can get 6% and much more… so the overall discount is better PLUS actual match tix… no point in going to SA & watching it on TV!
critical analysis. am curious though do they have some exit clause, lets say u’ve been contributing all this while then you cannot contribute anymore, maybe jobloss, are u able to “divert” the savings to another account, withdraw etc in essence converting it to a savings-cum scheme? all in all, i think its a good package, sounds more reliable than going it solo
Coldtusker: Wasn’t aware of the their news cafe. Is that in Upper Hill? Pakage looks much more attractive now than a few months ago
Marazzmatazz: Exit clauses are tough. Can’t withdraw any cash till 24 months before policy matures (circa 2008) and if you miss paying some instalments – but for not more than 12 consecutive months – they will reinstate your benefits in full when you pay up all the missing premiums.
Sorry… I meant the News Cafe in SA (they are a chain)…
I wish they had that in Kenya! They are livelier than the Kenya coffee shops but its the free 1 hour Wi-Fi I liked!
Whats in the package, any tourist related travel
Guys,
I am writing a piece for mwalimu.com about cost of Module II programs at UON etc versus study costs in RSA etc. Can someone tell me the average costs of thes items:
(i)A decent meal (Lunch/Dinner)
(ii)Night stay in a reasonable hotel
(iii)The cost of taxi ride/Km
(iv)Car rental
(v) Residential BroadBand connection
Thanks
Your blog entry was very interesting. I am a realtor specializing in Tampa Bay Florida Real Estate .
Sorry to go offtopic here but I wanted to ask if anyone knows the companies that make up the NSE-20 share index. This has bugged me for a while.
1.I have this list of the companies that were part of the index in 1999 but would like to update it.
Companies in the NSE-20 Share Index as of Dec-31 1999
——————————————————-
1. ***Brooke Bond – delisted(went private)
2. ***George Williamson – changed name? moved to AIMS?
3. Kakuzi
4. Sasini Tea
5. Kenya Airways
6. ***Lonhro Motors – delisted, bankruptcy?
7. Nation Media –
8. *Uchumi Supermarkets – currently suspended, bankrupt
9. Barclays Bank
10. Diamond Trust Bank
11. Kenya Commercial Bank
12. Standard Chartered Bank
13. Bamburi Cement
14. British American Tobacco
15. *B.O.C. Gases – currently suspended, buying out Carbacid
16. ***E.A. Packaging – delisted, went private ?
17. E.A. Breweries
18. ***Kenya National Mills – delisted, bankrupt?
19. Kenya Power & Lighting
20. Total Kenya
NB:Question marks mean that I am not sure if that was the reason for delisting. 3 stars means that the company is no longer listed. 1 star means that the company is listed but suspended.
More questions I hav;
2.In the case of Uchumi which is currently suspended does it still maintain its place in the index? If so what is the procedure to replace it?
3.What are the components of the AIG-27 share index?
4.Do you think these two indices reflect the NSE properly because I feel like they parallel gains/losses in volume or include significant new shares offerings such as Kengen which should definitely be part of the index IMHO.
5. Shouldn’t we add a new market-capitalization weighted index that include all stocks similar to the NASDAQ composite index?
Shiroh: Games will be played in 13 stadiums in 11 cities e.g. Johannesburg, Durban, Cape town, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria etc. – I guess you can travel around from wherever the games you choose are played
Toiyoi: My rough guide – decent meal (Lunch/Dinner) R60, while my fast food meals were all R30, (ii) airport hotel was R500 b&b (iii) didn’t take taxi but was told it would be about R100 – R200
falconsgladiator: Will try and find out what the NSE and AIG indexes are. Last I heard was that AIG dropped Uchumi, Unga and Kakuzi tomake way for KenGen, Mumias and ARM
FG -The NSE index is a mystery to most. The NSE never answered my request for the methodology! I believe there are glaring errors!
I don’t use the NSE index coz its price (not weighted) thus a split e.g. EABL’s 5:1 actually REDUCED its “importance” within the index!
The NSE website is pathetically outdated!
Brooke Bond changed its name to Unilever Tea.
George Williamson to Williamson Tea.
KNM – It was merged with Unga so all KNM shares were converted to Unga shares.
E.A. Packaging delisted volntarily.
There was talk of including ARM, ScanGroup & Mumias into the NSE index to replace Uchumi among others.
Thanks bankelele and coldtusker. With you info I think I have narrowed my list down to about 16/17 confirmed companies.