Category Archives: NSE OTC

New unquoted board for company listings at Nairobi

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has launched a new push to increase the number of listed companies. Rather than wait for companies to get ready for listing, they had set out to seek and groom companies under the Ibuka program and have now launched an unquoted securities platform (USP) to woo more companies.  

At an event organized by the Bob Collymore Foundation to connect small and medium businesses seeking capital with potential investors, NSE CEO Geoffrey Odundo said there are 498 private equity funds in Africa with 238 are active in Kenya where there was Kshs 2 trillion available to invest in well-run businesses. He said the new NSE programs are designed at improving the transparency, governance, and chances of business survival after a founder hands off, not just raising capital.  

The USP is an information and infrastructure solution to promote the issuing and trading securities by unquoted companies who can list corporate bonds, ordinary or preference shares, REIT’s, private offers, rights issues and secondary listings of any amount. It targets the many companies whose shares trade over-the-counter (OTC), but whose owners are seeking liquidity, clearer valuations and maybe later to raise capital.

Companies can apply by sending a prospectus to the CMA and NSE, one year of audited accounts, board resolution, incorporation documents and a fee of Kshs 5,000. It takes 21 days for a decision to be made if all documents are sent and the cost of listing is 0.03% of the value of the securities.

The NSE’s USP board has two listings, both from Acorn Holdings. As part of the conclusion of its green bond program, Acorn has transferred the student accommodations it is building into an Acorn D-REIT (real estate development trust), and once they are complete, they will be sold to an Acorn I-REIT (income real estate investment trust) that will manage the properties. A few weeks ago, on July 9, the USP board had its first trades as one million shares of Acorn worth Kshs 20 million (Kshs 6M of the D-REIT, and Kshs 14M of the I-REIT) were traded.

Kutwa Tuesday: Capital Chickens

Capital rights issues come home to roost

Last October this post discussed banks’ needing to raise share capital to support their rapid growth over the last five years. Since that time, Diamond Trust, NIC, Housing Finance, Equity and now KCB have all gone ahead and put plans in place to increase their share capital to catch up with their asset base.

KCB hopes to raise Kshs. 5 billion and hopefully this could spur some quality mid-tier banks, with foreign shareholding to step forward to the NSE listing place as well i.e K-Rep, Commercial Bank of Africa, Investment & Mortgages, Fina, Citibank and even Cooperative banks.

Corporate news

KQ expands (From African Flyer blog) – Kenya Airways will from mid-year increase flights on routes in Africa (Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana), Mid-East (Dubai) and Far East (China, Hong Kong, Thailand).

Another stockbroker falls: This time it’s another small firm – Nyaga stockbrokers. This is not unexpected, as problems were well known for over a year and had even been discussed in a stockskenya forum. The authorities (CMA) can’t pretend to act surprised as they had in the past considered taking action against the firm whose managers repeatedly sold investors shares without their knowledge – and when caught they would blame errors, and take their time correcting the situation, only to repeat the same up to last week.

  • Though the NSE launched a 100 million rescue package, a Business Daily story mentions that as much as 820 million could be owed to clients.
  • Other blogger takes: The KCIG has some suggestions for the capital markets authority while Coldtusker is dismayed by the pattern of bailouts of Nyaga Stockbrokers and Invesco Insurance after financial shenanigans.

OTC Bank shares: Are shares of Family Bank available to buy over the counter?

New branches: coming soon Gulf Africa bank at Hughes Building – Kenyatta Avenue, and a new Family Bank branch opp. Yaya Center, Kilimani

Big radio opportunity: Kenya’s highest-rated radio show, Kiss FM‘s Big Breakfast Show (with Carol Mutoko) is looking for a new voice to join her on the show. Send a CV with a recording to md@kissfm.co.ke

Happenings at the Nairobi Stock Exchange

(1) East Africa Breweries effected a 5 for 1 share split yesterday to make its stock more affordable. It closed yesterday at 114 shillings/share down from 530 the previous day. It is the second company to do a stock split this year – Kenya Oil Corporation (KENOL) did the 1st ever with a 10 for 1 split earlier this year – and its share price has already climbed back to 60 which is the highest price 9equivqlent of 600 shillings – before the split).

(2) In a related matter the Financial Post (a new weekly paper in Nairobi) has an article, which says that 14 companies plan to be listed on the NSE once their over the counter (OTC) market is operational. Companies will only have to display two years of profits unlike the NSE where you have to show five years – or they also don’t have to show good profit industry, only the potential to turn round! Companies lined up include Kenya Cooperative Creameries and Cooperative Bank, Timsales, Hutchins Biemer and Orion – an agro chemical company.

This OTC market will target the cooperative movement. Just the fact that a company cannot meet the listing requirement for the NSE, make these much riskier investment vehicles – especially for the cooperative sector which is riddled with mismanaged giant societies. I think small investors can participate in the NSE-proper as the KQ AGM showed. Its stock trades for 19 shillings, and there are several other companies that trade for below 50 shillings.