Category Archives: Safaricom IPO

Online Nairobi Stockbrokers

Continuing the popular Where to buy shares series, my long-time stockbroker CFC (actually CFCFS) have finally unveiled an online trading and account/portfolio platform. It’s quite good so far, quick registration, easy navigation, and hopefully a secure one. I hope they add share reports, and other useful tips which they can e-mail to users.

My portfolio is correctly displayed and I will make my next trades online (previously I used to e-mail my orders, and get confirmations and statements back by e-mail)

Other brokers with online features (can’t vouch for their quality) include Afrika Discount Drummond Dyer & Blair, Faida and Sterling

Questions
1. What are you online experiences like with your Kenyan stockbrokers?
2. Have any Kenyans in the Diaspora got their Safaricom IPO refunds, or been able to apply them to buy other shares? Have you seen your refund cheques, or know where they are?

Share Portfolio: August 2008


Drowning in Safaricom juice

8-8-08 is supposed to be a good luck date or something. 2008 has been a rough year for most companies since January. The Safaricom IPO was supposed to be the savior for investors, but has instead become an albatross on the Nairobi Stock Exchange

Heres’ my portfolio that has changed May 2008

The stable
Diamond Trust ↓
KCB ↓
Scangroup ↓
Stanbic (UG)↔
Safaricom ↓

What’s changed?
In: Safaricom
Out: Express, Sameer, Total
Increase: KCB, Safaricom
Decrease: —
Dividends Paid: KCB, Stanbic, Diamond Trust, Total, Scangroup
Unexpected gains (none) /loses everything else
Outlook: Shifted focus to banking and communications, and got out of manufacturing related stocks as the political and oil shocks continue to be felt through the economy. No foreseeable changes till next quarter, but will look at Kenya Airways if it dips lower.

Kutwa Tuesday: Reverse Safaricom IPO and other such tales

Safaricom needs a reverse stock split to get rid of their unhappy shareholders.
– Anyone who has less than 10,000 shares by December should be paid off by the Government or Vodafone at the IPO price of 5 shillings or market price, whichever is lower at the end of the year. Investors will not sell their shares at a loss and the least they can do is recoup their money from this mess (excluding their loans)

Kenol tweak: 36.67 million shares change hands worth 3.3 billion shillings on Friday. Meanwhile kenol/kobil stations have the most expensive fuel in Nairobi. Diesel has hit 101 shilling per litre ($1.55), while petrol is at 108, that’s about 6 shillings more than my station of choice.

Cola tweak: After enduring a difficult first quarter, coca cola is having a bit of a tumble in the second quarter due to to EABL’s Alvaro – at least in urban areas where it has become the non-alcoholic drink of choice for many previous soda (and juice) sippers. Coke has unleashed another multi-million shilling giveaway promotion to win back customers


alvaro cases at Nakumatt

Celtel tweak – More celtel confusion; The ink is not dry on posters for their newest promotion and already the terms have changed (for the better) [for customers to get free calls will now cost 65/= ($1) a day down from 99/=].

August will be a significant month for the mobile sector as Celtel switches to the Zain brand, Safaricom release their first quarterly results after the IPO, and Econet should finaly/hopefuly roll out operations.

Media tweaks: All journalists and correspondents practicing in Kenya must be registered with the Media Council of Kenya – and to do so they must each pay Kshs. 2,000, while foreign journalists will have to pay 10,000 ($154) per year [those on short term assignment of up to 3 months pay 5,000]. Amounts due by 30/9. Television radio and newspaper organizations also have to pay a quarterly fee depending on the number of media outlets

Standard tweaks Two weeks after the launch of the new Standard, their strap line of the standard has changed;


new standard at launch


standard yesterday

Sunday Nation tweaks now has the best of best of Whispers – favorite columns of the late humorist Wahome Mutahi and some articles of the New York Times

From the blogs
Pointer for Access Kenya shareholders to read
– There are only 60 lions (adult) in the Mara – but that’s an improvement by 50% from year 2001
– How bad are things for those who took IPO loans for Safaricom? Ssembonge shows that small investors are hurting more than bigger borrowers.
– Cautionary tales on life insurance from Tujuane
– Peer pressure: tales of GDP growth of rates of 8% in Ghana and
21% in Angola
Link to a puff piece in memory of the former finance minister
-US Airways to remove all in-seat movies from their planes, while Emirates is targeting to remove all paper (in-flight magazines and publications) to save a ton of weight on the new A380 (to compensate for a ton of water for showers in first class (from airliners.net)

Opportunities

African Banker Awards. deadline for nominations if 31 July in the following categories: African Banker of the Year, African Bank of the Year, African Investment Bank, Best Development Bank in Africa, African Microfinance Bank, Best Issuing House, Most Innovative Bank, Deal of the Year, Socially Responsible Bank of the Year, Best Global Bank in Africa, Award for Gender Sensitivity

Jobs
from the daily papers last week
Aircraft Leasing Services: captains, first officers for Embarer 135. als@als.co.ke
– HR director at Housing Finance. Apply through deloitte esd@deloitte.co.ke by 1/8
– MD of KCB Rwanda. Apply to recruitement@kcb.co.ke by 8/8
KPMG Uganda: Internal Audit Services manager, Senior Internal Auditor, Internal auditor, forensic auditors. Apply to talentrecruit@kpmg.co.ke by 1/8
– Corporate affairs manager of Nation media group.
– Independent sales agents at Standard Chartered Bank. Apply to Susan.Ombati@ke.standardchartered.com by 31/7

Others vacancies at Kencall, Kenya Airways, and Family Bank [Credit officer, Procurement Officer, Works Officer, Accountant, Accounts Assistant, Administrative Assistant, Assistant Manager, Audit Manager, Branch Accountant]

Beach plots too good to be true? Lots of land available in Mombasa for real estate investment from Datkit agents including 3 acres creek in new Nyali with 120m sea frontage, 1.3 acres over looking Nyali golf club, 5 acre lots in kikambala, 14 acre beach plot next to Neptune beach, 25 acre beach plot next to kaskazi hotel with 168m beach front, 1/3 acre residential plots in shanzu (2nd row from beach)

Safaricom 5s

Safaricom IPO Day 30: Deals 1,297, Turnover Kshs. 257.9 million [$3.9 million] Average 6.23 High 6.60 Low 5.95 Last 6.20 Volume 41.4 million shares. Feels and smells like a bear raid. [Commentary and data from Rich.co.ke – NSE data vendor, with Free real time prices between 0930 -1500]

– What is the role of Morgan Stanley in the price of Safaricom?

– How about a reverse stock split of Safaricom to weed out 2/3 of the unhappy 800,000 shareholders and get a manageable share register?

End of day update – Turnover Kshs. 450.4 million ($6.92 m), Average 6.20 High 6.60 Low 5.95 Volume 72.5 million shares. Rich.co.ke commentary; A very weak session. The article in Business Daily, a large trade on the prompt board at 6.20 all pushed this market over. It was all so fortuitous and coincidental to be quite remarkable. The price is undervalued here by a wide margin.