Wanted

Savings A/C
I wanna be with “_____ Bank” but KCB need not apply
I want a savings account- that has no ledger fees, no monthly fees, or EFT fees, that has a reasonable minimum balance and sends statements out frequently. I want a savings account that emphasizes savings, not fees. Short-listed banks include ABC, Barclays, Consolidated, Equity, Stanbic, and Standard Chartered. Any other suggestions or referrals?

Kenol shareholder
I’d like a Kenol shareholder to volunteer and write up an account of the company’s AGM this coming Friday. Full credit will be given.

E-bill
Ever since their MD looked like he was about to leave, Kenya Power & Lighting Company’s revolutionary system of billing (by SMS or e-mail) have stopped. I have yet to see my bill and fear a power cut soon as this company is quick to cut of subscribers who default. I’ll pre-pay an estimated amount tomorrow just in case – to avoid the cut & expensive time-consuming reconnection hassle.

Explanations
Why this and Why that? – Or is it business as usual?

Personal banking pays


Peace be upon you, Kenya

Small is big: The whole country is focused on exam results (and peace deals) but my focus is on the banking sector: How do the four banks that have reported compare with estimates earlier estimates?

– 10. NIC – profit 1.05 billion realized against 1.1 billion estimated
– 3 Standard Chartered – 4.9b exceeds 3.5b
– 2. KCB 3.5b underachieving 4.3b
– Barclays 7.08b underachieving 8.5b*

The Kenyan corporate banking market is saturated and banks may have to go after smaller customers (personal banking and SME’s) to continue to achieve super-profits. To prove it, look at KCB and Standard Chartered – Kenya’s No. 2 and 3 banks’. Two years ago (2005) they were virtually the same size 70 billion, and two years later (2007) KCB is 20 billion shillings larger in assets (112b ~ $1.6b) than standard chartered (91b) (corporate focus),

This vindicates Barclays who have gone for personal business and can expect an even better 2008/09 and, of course Equity Bank – who have overhauled the entire mid-size banks sector in four years)

I love exams: For some reason KCPE and KCSE results bring this blog’s biggest single-day traffic – 5X normal (thanks to an obscure post) as parents and students hit google to search for how they can get results online.

opportunities
(some fin jobs, most from the daily papers)

– African Development Bank Young Professionals Program.d/l is 15/3 (details at the Economist )
– APA Insurance: head of business development, chief underwriter (general insurance) business developers (2). apply to recruitment@apainsurance.com
– Director of internal audit at East Africa development bank (based in Kampala). Apply through Deloitte – esd@deloitte.co.ug by 14/3
– Gulf African Bank: relationship managers, business bankers, credit analysts, database admin, IS auditor. Apply to Recruitment@gulfafricanbank.com by 5/3
– KCB: branch managers, call center manager, product development manager (S&L). apply to recruitment@kcb.co.ke by 5/3
– Kenya Airways: Commercial Director, Group Finance Director, Chief Operating Officer (and others)
– Kengen: business development & strategy director, operations director, finance & commercial director, internal audit manager, company secretary/legal & corp. affairs director, regulatory affairs director. apply through KPMG esdkengen@kpmg.co.ke by 14/3
– KIPPRA – young professionals (11). Apply to hr@kippra.org by 20/3
– KPMG: senior advisor – public sector & development, advisor – public sector & devt. (2) – talentrecruit@kpmg.co.ke by 3/3. also manager corporate finance & transactions services/l 12/3
– Safaricom: Business Intelligence Developer, Retail Sales Manager, Retail Centre Manager, Area Retail Manager (and others)

Barclays numbers

Kenya’s’ largest bank is first out of the door with year end announcement for what is expected to be a record profit year

Coldtusker used to run a financial gaffes, column and all the news outlets went with Barclays reported growth of 9% in pre-tax profits, when it was actually 7% (to about $101 million) from 2006.

The dividend was the same at 2006, you can expect good results in years to come, when the expansion pays offs (not in 2007 where expenses grew faster than income (37% to 24%). They threw all their funds into loans – up 43% in 2007; compare these results to 2005-06 when assets and loans were up 13% apiece.

Another news gaffe goes to the Standard who referred to a company called Centrum in their Saturday newspaper report on ICDCI’s name change to Centum Investments. The name confusion will continues for ex-ICDCI as long as spell checks are used.

ICDCI AGM

Shareholder woes: My first AGM this year is that of ICDCI which was held on Thursday February 21, at the Safari Park Hotel.

Sometimes it’s painful to be a shareholder and today was one of those days. I’m out of practice and forgot to check in early – and arrived at the Hotel at 11.m. sharp only to find a very long queue outside. It would have been better to be a proxy today as that queue moved faster. But the company had only four computer stations to register any of its 40,000 shareholders who showed up – and I didn’t get processed till noon after spending an hour standing in the hot sun.

The meeting was almost over and I was able to catch a few comments by the MD and the Chairman of the company:

  • On property: they sold two buildings in Nairobi, but are going to invest in the real estate sector again – and develop a building on a plot in downtown Nairobi.
  • On Eveready: it has not performed well (for shareholders) but by going public they are now able to liquidate part of their shareholding.
  • On Rift Valley Railways – it’s a long term investment, but they hope to get a return on the investment within 4 years.
  • On the company’s sustainability in these tough political times – they aim to diversify regionally, to minimize country-specific risks.
  • One shareholder complained about late delivery of the meeting invitations & company accounts (through the post office) and the Chairman answered that they are concerned about the cost of printing and distribution of the company accounts – they may print abridged ones in future and e-mail others or put them on their web site.

Hot Button issue was the proposed name change of the company from ICDCI to Centum Investments: almost all shareholders who spoke, on the matter, opposed the name change of the company – some saying old is gold, the new name is not African and can’t be translated, they don’t want to lose identity etc.

The Company Chairman was at pains to explain when one director Mrs. Pauline Muriuki stood up and exhorted shareholders to approve the name change. She said the company wanted to differentiate itself from (former parent) ICDC, and also Uchumi and the Government – saying negative stories/Matope that involved these companies affect the ICDCI share price. She also mentioned that the shares allow the company to go international (will be listed on the Uganda Stock Exchange. She said other companies had changed their names to reflect their new identities and had succeeded thereafter such as Unilever.

She was clearly worried as the company had already put in place a multi-million campaign for the new name which was yet to be revealed (a launch dinner to be held today but unfortunately coincided with the launch of CNBC Africa in Nairobi and was canceled) – also the company had already printed out shirts and gift items for shareholders with Centum to take home after the meeting

Is there shareholder democracy?: The Centum matter was eventually put to a vote on the floor and passed, but the Chairman failed to ask if there were any opposers to the name change. The matter should actually have been put to a vote (with physical ballots). But would it have mattered anyway (since directors – businessman Chris Kirubi and ICDC (23%) combined own 50% of the company’s votes?. Still, it was a warning that companies should not take shareholders votes for granted

Goodies: Centum-branded polo-shirt, tote bag and calendar. The Hotel had prepared a bland buffet lunch, and the company may have been better off handing out packed lunch boxes as the shareholders were unruly as they queued for the gifts and food.

From Banks to Chips

IFC funds D-Trust diversification: Diamond Trust Bank will get a $45 million (Kshs. 3.2 billion) loan from the Investment Finance Corporation this year: a subordinated loan of $15 million; and $30 million for housing finance, on lending to SMEs, consumer financing, education/student loans, health-care, and agribusiness financing. (Note: I own shares in Diamond Trust)

Super Barclays: Barclays Kenya is the first bank to announce ‘its profits for 2007. They are up about 7% from the subdued profit of Kshs. 7 billion ($100 million), but the profits of Barclays makes in African Countries mean that the units are too expensive for Absa

From the Blogs
– Local TV leader KTN follows NTV by expanding into Uganda
– Just how free is free secondary education?
– Inflation update: One common item I missed in inflation tracker is Chips (French fries). They are a popular Nairobi meal that’s cheap, and filling, often goes well with a ¼ chicken from Kenchic. But the price of chips has shot up in the post election period – from 20- 30 shillings ($0.4) for a pack/plate, to abut Kshs. 50 – 60 ($0.85) at the same Kenchic joints. The price of cooking oil has also gone up by about 30 – 40% in supermarkets – which may be contribute, as would the availability of potatoes which were produced in clash-hit areas.