Safaricom share priced ‘above market peers’

Investment bankers at Citi Global Markets are indicating that the Safaricom stock at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) is trading at a premium compared to peers in emerging and frontier markets. Analysts have changed their recommendation from the “buy” made in January this year to “neutral”—meaning investors should not expect much increase in price going forward, with chances it could edge down. Expectations of minimal price increase did not mean the firm should brace for difficult times in financial performance, but is in fact headed for higher revenues [...]

DStv slashes decoder price by 48 per cent

Pay-TV provider DStv has slashed the price of its high-definition decoders by 48 per cent to Sh2,499, in a bid to sign up new subscribers amid rising competition in the market. DStv decoders previously retailed at between Sh4,800 and Sh30,400. The battle for pay television subscribers has gone a notch higher in the ongoing migration from analogue to the digital broadcasting that has opened up the field to investors such as Safaricom that last Friday unveiled its Internet-enabled decoder [...]

EABL to earn Sh4.5bn from sale of glass firm

Beer maker EABL is set to earn Sh4.5 billion from the sale of its subsidiary Central Glass Industries (CGI) in a transaction that is expected to boost the brewer’s cash position by reducing its debt. The transaction will see Consol supply EABL with spirits and beer bottles for at least five years [...]

Limuru Tea share price to halve after split next month

The price of Limuru Tea, one of the highest-priced stocks at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), is expected to halve next month when it is split into two. Split is probably being done to improve the liquidity of the firm whose price has even exceeded Sh1,000 to hit Sh1,185 in the past one year. Limuru Tea joins a host of listed firms that have split shares, often ahead of a substantial rise in capitalization [...]

No reports of account theft with new chip-and-pin cards

There has been no reported incident of card ‘skimming’ in Kenya over the past year following introduction of the chip-and-pin technology last year, Kenya Bankers Association has said [...]

Kenya eyes IMF loan to shore up weak shilling

The Treasury is considering tapping into the precautionary loan given by the International Monetary Fund last year to support the shilling, which gained marginally against the US dollar in yesterday’s trading. Kenya borrowed Sh64 billion from IMF in February this year fearing the economy’s vulnerability to shocks arising from growing integration into global markets, insecurity, extreme weather changes and huge imports for infrastructure projects [...]

Botswana supermarket chain targets Kenya entry through acquisition

A leading Botswana supermarket chain, Choppies Enterprise, is set to enter the Kenyan market by end of the year. The retailer operates seven distribution centres and 125 retail outlets, comprising 72 stores in Botswana, 35 in South Africa and 18 stores in Zimbabwe. Choppies, which is listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange and is planning to carry out a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Analysts at Standard Investment Bank see Choppies as likely to be going on a head-to-head battle with Uchumi, Kenyan’s only listed retailer [...]