Yesterday was the day the Safaricom IPO was to start, but not a word came except from the courts. The prospectus could be out today, so there could be hope.

Still, the market needs a huge outlet to drain all the excess investment liquidity in the country. So far, everything offered is oversubscribed from company placements IPO’s, to corporate bonds – with the Diaspora, foreign investors, local institutional investors, fund managers, co-operatives, banks and retail investors all chasing the same investments. The latest was the Diamond Trust Bank rights which were oversubscribed by 178%

One controversial issue of Safaricom is the 5 – 10% owned by Mobitelea, which has been extensively discussed in the media and among blogs. However it would be surprising if that shareholding still existed, and surely that embarrassing matter has been sorted out by Vodafone either by swop’s or other payments.

Bank developments

• Corporate rebranding at KCB at their website (formerly kcb.co.ke) is now kcbbankgroup.com – shedding the Kenyan connotation which would be a burdensome sell in the region with branches in S. Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
• Equity Bank has received more approvals from CBK, NSE and CMA for their recent deals. In addition, Helios (who are buying 25% of the Bank) have been exempted from the banking act provision that a foreign non-bank cannot own shares in the country (until 2016)
• Imperial Bank has ventured into Shariah banking with a product called Imani while giant Standard Chartered also considering venturing into Islamic banking.
• The Baraka Fund has taken over the country’s smallest bank – City Finance.

Stockbroking

• The NSE has announced that they have fully paid all Francis Thuo client claims as at November 30 2007
• CFC Bank is looking for stock agents in all provinces of the country.
• NIC Bank’s takeover of Solid Investment stockbrokers has been approved by the Minister of Finance.

Real estate

• Business Daily looks at real estate investments in the last year and their profitability.
• Regardless of who wins the election, budget deficits are a sure thing and interest rates should rise in 2008 – affecting mortgages, most of which are not at fixed rates
  New hotels: planned developments include seven coves in chumani kilifim while the Delamere farm will set up ecotourism camp at soysambu ranch

insurance:

• After insurance companies beat a retreat from insurance sector three years ago, citing fraud and the collapse of medical plans, there’s a mini comeback now with First Assurance going after AAR in a partnership with the Nairobi Hospital Association.
• The Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI) has announced that from next year all premiums must be paid before any cover is provided

opportunities

Bottle shortage

A sign of changing trends as people seem to have forgotten that they have bottles at home. And now the bottlers want them back and are willing to pay cash for you to scrounge around the houses and surrender their empty bottles.

• Beer bottles: east African breweries buying them back at 17 shillings ($0.25) per bottle and 335 sh per empty beer crate to uchumi and nakumatt supermarkets. Nakumatt will pay cash while Uchumi will pay in vouchers for shopping at that store!
• Soda bottles Nairobi Bottlers (a Coca-Cola franchise) is buying coke, fanta, sprite bottles (300 and 500ml) at 10 shillings each, and empty crates at 100 sh.

Awards:

Kenya National Commission on Human Rights 2008 human rights & democracy awards: milele (lifetime achievement), firimbi (whistle blower), umma (public body), utumishi (police), urekebishaji (prisons), utetezi (civil society), mashinani (community based), habari (media), jitolee (business) and special category lochiel@knchr.org or bwire@knchr.org

Africa Investor: Tourism Investor Awards: Tourism Investment Programme of the Year, Sustainable Tourism Investment of the Year, Business Resort of the Year, Best Initiative in Facilitating SME Tourism Investment, Tourism Promotion Agency (TPA) of the Year, Hotel Investment of the Year, Hospitality Management Team of the Year, Tourism Investment Advisor of the Year, Business Airline of the Year, 2010 Legacy Investment of the Year, Business Travel Insurer of the Year. Deadline for the entries is 11 January 2008.

Jobs

from the daily papers last week

• Chief executive; Constituency Development Fund board
• Daystar University deputy VC finance, administration & planning. Manpower 14/12
• CEO at the troubled East African Portland Cement Company
• Fly 540 airline: looking for captains and first officers for ATR 72, Dash 8, Fokker F27 and BAE 146 aircraft
• KISS FM: creative writers email gm@kissfm.co.ke
• K-Rep Bank: branch managers, operations managers, advances managers, advances officers, apply by snail mail – D/L 19/12
• Kenya Pipeline: helicopter pilot, senior accountant, internal auditor, senior internal auditor, senior IT officer, D/L 21/12, apply by snail mail
• Financial management analyst at the World Bank – Nairobi