Standard Chartered AGM

The Bank held it's 2006 AGM at KICC today.

Prox-crush
The line for proxies was longer, and served slower, than that of shareholders causing me to miss half the meeting. In fact, I was turned away when my name was not on the proxy list. As I walked away I remembered something and went to another attendant who found my name on his list - it appears different officers had different lists of proxies!

New chairman
Today marked the retirement of Hannington Awori as Chairman and long serving director of the Bank. He was replaced by Mr. David Njoroge the, well regarded, former auditor general of Kenya. (Wrongly listed at government site as still current)

Shareholder questions
They were not many questions as two shareholders who feature at most AGM’s, and recently at the Nation’s, took up quite a bit of time with endless comments and praise for the Chairman and performance the Bank.

Others:
- Why no women directors?
- Can we have bonus share to mark Chairman's retirement?
- Why doesn’t bank tailor personal loans for retirees, not just employed people?
- Why no provision for a 250 million shilling judgement the Bank lost in the courts?

Hot button issue
The Bank’s CEO had earlier concluded his long speech on the Bank’s year with a video featuring blind runner Henry Wanyoike, a world paralympics champion - which has now being converted into an advertisement (with a Kenyan theme) that the Bank is showing in 54 countries as a model of partnership.

There had also been mention of the corporate social responsibility activites of the bank through support of projects totalling 40 million shillings to various community partnerships during the year such as a new 6.5 million shilling bus for the Thika School for the Blind.

Some shareholders were upset about this and, during question time, wanted to know why the bank was spending their money on programs instead of more dividends. Another asked for the bank board to present a budget for such activities before embarking on them without consulting shareholders first. As others lined up for lunch they questioned if 40m was actually spent on projects (Kenyans mistrust and believe there is corruption beneath even good ventures).

Goodies
Handed out after the meeting was a tote bag with t-shirt and lunch box from inter-continental hotel (sprite can, burger, samosas, apple, drumstick, spring roll). And in a few weeks, a 3.1 shilling per share dividend.

A dollar a day: dream suspended

I have been running Google Adsense advertisements for a few months now and recently received myfirst $102 check. I have since been chugging along and looking forward to a next cumulative payment of about $150 when I got this e-mail on Saturday:

From : Google AdSense
Sent : Saturday, May 27, 2006 12:28 AM
To : bankelele@hotmail.com
CC : Google AdSense
Subject : Google AdSense Account Disabled

Hello _____

It has come to our attention that invalid clicks have been generated on the Google ads on your site(s). We have therefore disabled your Google AdSense account. Please understand that this step was taken in an effort to protect the interest of the AdWords advertisers.

A publisher's site may not have invalid clicks on any ad(s), including but not limited to clicks generated by:

- a publisher on his own web pages
- a publisher encouraging others to click on his ads
- automated clicking programs or any other deceptive software
- a publisher altering any portion of the ad code or changing the
layout, behavior, targeting, or delivery of ads for any reason

Practices such as these are in violation of the Google AdSense Terms and Conditions and program polices, which can be viewed at:

https://www.google.com/adsense/localized-terms?hl=en_US
https://www.google.com/adsense/policies?hl=en_US

Publishers disabled for invalid click activity are not allowed further participation in AdSense and do not receive any further payment. The earnings on your account will be properly returned to the affected advertisers.

Sincerely,

The Google AdSense Team

I immediately appealed by e-mailing Google, and as I await the outome, I today found this very timely and useful post from Problogger on reasons one can get suspended by the Adsense team.

Diamond Trust AGM

Daimond Trust Bank held their AGM at the Serena Hotel this morning. The uneventful meeting was held in a very cold room, which may have contributed to the short meeting time of 30 minutes excluding shareholder questions.

Shareholder questions
- Pay more dividend – Join other companies in the Aga Khan Portfolio (Jubilee, Nation Media, Serena) and pay a more liberal dividend somehow.
- Increase share capital: Bank said they have increased Tier II capital to support expansion and board is also looking for more avenues of capital.
- Not enough Nairobi branches to serve customers: The Bank plans opening another city branch as well as one in Zanzibar to go with recent ones in Dar es Salaam and Arusha. Also they have partnered with pesa point who have put up almost 120 ATM's.
- Few tellers at Nation Centre Branch. Bank has plans to refurbish that Branch, and also Kengen IPO was blamed for the recent congestion there.

Goodies – Bila’s Having no bags or gifts is one way to cut down on attendance, Snacks were offered after the meeting, but patience is not a virtue among shareholders – those at the back of the line found all the samosas and snacks in the hands of those who were first to get served - kind of like the 2005 Total AGM. They probably added more food later but I had to bounce - don’t think I’ll be back next year cheap mo fo’s. At least the press got a one page handout from a PR firm explaining the bank’s profitability and regional expansion plans.

BAT 2006 AGM

Report by Mwananchi of the British American Tobacco AGM took place at the Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi in late April.

- They offered FREE parking for those who attended the AGM which was great!
- The AGM commenced on time but the Chairman read his "Chairman's Report" which should have been taken as read!
- There was a short film on BAT's new logo as well as what they are up to. Partly it seemed great PR considering the regulatory problems they are facing BUT a nice touch!
- The press was there in full force!
- The meeting was handled well & not rushed.
- The registration line was handled speedily & all shareholders got a "chit" that allowed them one bag of freebies with lunch & soda at the conclusion of the AGM. Quite a sight in a 5-star hotel as shareholders spread out with their lunch boxes out on the lawns & corridors of the hotel.

Freebies: Polo shirt & Cap (Pall Mall) with a duffel bag.

Questions/Comments/Suggestions
- Frustration at BARS but the queries were handled well by GeorgeM of BARS. BARS handled the registration as well.
- An excellent suggestion by a shareholder to hold the AGM at the factory similar to Sameer (who pitched a tent in their lawn/garden) to save on costs as well as provide the chance to tour the factory. The chairman responded that the AGM was an affordable indulgence once a year. The MD did agree to allow shareholders to tour "their" factory.
- I don't brook idiotic questions & this was from a guy I see at most AGMs I go to & he is a smart guy & should have known better! He asked why shut down Uganda when electricity is cheaper there plus loss of jobs. The matter was addressed in the Annual Report (do people read it?) but the MD indulged him & explained that the Nairobi factory is 10 times larger thus marginal costs are much lower. In addition, Uganda is facing severe electricity rationing thus moving to Kenya was fortuitous.
- Why don't Kenyan shareholders have a larger stake? As answered that coz BAT does not want to sell its shares.
- Bonus/Split. The FD (Lopokoiyit) said it did not benefit BAT & they have been under pressure from various parties (aka brokers) to do so. Listed firms whose shares trade often pay more in fees (A STUPID RULE THAT ONLY BENEFITS CMA, NSE & BROKERS NOT THE LISTED FIRMS - VituVingiSana).
- BAT will continue paying high dividends in lieu of bonuses but the Board will consult on the matter. They shot it down in the last Board Meeting
- Regulatory concerns were brought up by shareholders. BAT is working on trying to ensure a "fair" bill is passed by lobbying the powers that be. As a side note (my observation) that includes junkets for MPs to luxury hotels at the Coast!
- The usual suspects were there trying to get themselves on tape/TV...

Also
An alternate view of the company in light of recent legislation restricting smoking in Kenya.

Nairobi Jobs

International HIV/Aids Finance Coordinator at Action Aid International (AAI) . Apply to ihvf.jhb@actionaid.org

East African Breweries
- Group head business performance management
- Group performance insight manager
- Tax & insurance accountant
- Group strategy manager
Apply to the Head of HR, P O Box 30161 by June 9

East African Development Bank
- Regional business development manager
- Senior risk management and control officer
Deadline is June 16.

Various engineering types at Inteq, an oil & gas services company. Apply to inteq.engineers@inteq.com.

Oracle application database administrator at Jubilee insurance. Apply to personnel@jubileekenya.com by 2 June.

Various jobs at Safaricom. See http://www.safaricom.co.ke for details.

Trust Fund Manager at UNDP Somalia in Nairobi. Apply to registry.so@undp.org by May 28.

Nursing
Opportunities opening for nurses as the US plans to remove the limit of annual visa for nurses allowed into the country.

Senior government jobs
MD of National Housing Corporation. Apply to the chairman P O Box 30257 Nairobi by June 5.

MD of Kenya Broadcasting Corporation. Apply to the chairman, P O Box 30456 by 12 June.

Postmaster general at Postal Corporation of Kenya. Apply to the chairman P O Box 34567 by 12 June.

MD JKUAT enterprises apply to the chairman JKUAT P O Box 62000-00200 by 7 June.

Also at JKUAT, Deputy VC administation planning & development. Apply to vc@jkuat.ac.ke by June 20.

Internships
From Young African Professionals : Summer Internship at the The African Investment Corporation (AiC) . Apply to info@africaninvestcorp.com by June 5.

Corporate trainees at Safari Park Hotel. Apply to the HR & admin manager P O Box 45038-00100 by 12 June.

2006 Nation AGM

The Nation Media Group held their 2006 AGM at their plant, located just after JKIA Airport in Mlolongo. The company had a very good 2005, during which its profits passed the 1 billion shilling threshold and its newspapers, television, radio and other divisions all showed impressive growth and significant market leadership.

Media censorship referendum
The Chairman Mr. H. Awori and the CEO Mr. W. Kiboro clearly stated that the company’s investment future was at risk if a draconian media bill drafted by the Ministry of Information is passed by Parliament. The bill would among other things;
- Limit media ownership e.g. nation newspapers would not be able to own more than 10&% of a radio or TV station. They currently own all 3 outlets.
- CCK board would loose its independence, and be packed by political appointees who will regulate the sector at the whim of the executive.
- A “content advisory committee” would determine what is acceptable to be broadcast, and also determine what can be screened, at specific times of the day.
- Rolls back media gains even further than during the dark autocratic days of previous government.

Future plans
- Will engage other bodies and the public to challenge the media bill.
- Company may soon increase the price of Daily Nation and Sunday Nation (first since 2001) to offset increased newsprint costs.
- To meet the demands for increased financial information by Kenyans, they will start a business daily paper
- New offices? MD Kiboro complained to his staff that there is too much noise on Kimathi Street (from nightclubs) and it's difficult to work after 7 PM.

Kengen take note: With 200,000+ shareholders, Kengen can limit their AGM crowd capacity by holding their meeting at Masinga or Turkwell dams, far from Nairobi - The Nation has about 8,000 shareholders and hired over 10 Akamba buses to ferry shareholders 15 km to their plant.

Goodies Pleasant lunch in an open tent preceded the AGM. All shareholders received small gym bags, nation polo shirt, and copes of nation, taifa leo, east African and weekly advertiser. Lunch was “wedding food” - pilau, chichken, beef, and soda.

Shareholders questions
- First two shareholders to speak were AGM veterans who did not perform well today - each spoke for longer than the Chairman had before applauding paper's coverage of Anglo leasing and other corruption.
- Asked for more dividend (which was the same as last year but puffed up by bonus share)
- Nation to mobilize the public against media bill
- Nation should consider offshore borrowing since the company is averse to borrowing locally and funds projects using internally generated cash (also to increase dividend payout)
- More complaints about BARS.

Shares I own

Disclosure: My stable as Snoop would call it



Crown Berger
Diamond Trust
Express
HFCK
Kenya Airways
KCB
Kengen
Sameer
Uchumi

IMF generally happy with Kenya

The IMF has a positive outlook for Kenya, and expects the economy to grow at above 5.5% this year despite the persistent drought and inflation in the country, but is still unhappy with governance issues.

Barclays 2006 AGM

It’s AGM season again and there are simply too many of these to attend this month. I was at the Barclays one last year and will try and visit some new companies this year.

Mwananchi attended the 2006 Barclays AGM and was kind enough to contribute his report:

Held at KICC. Well organized & surprisingly not crowded. Started on time. Before you ask... there were lunch packs provided... more on that later...

BBK pays hefty dividends so not a problem on that end but there was a new Chairman Okomo-Okello also on TPSEA. (Serena)

In spite of the Chairman's request that only financial/annual report related questions be asked prior to the adoption of the accounts, the usual UNRELATED questions started!

Questions & Answers:
- Lunch doesn't take into account dietary needs. Adan (Adan Mohammed is the Barclays MD) answered that it is not easy to have each shareholder's needs provided for. The lady asking this question was within 3 metres of me & seemed very upset about lunch...
- Freebies like umbrellas. Adan (no-nonsense) said giving freebies to the attending shareholders is not fair to those who could not come.
- Transport/reimbursement from Shaags: Same answer as Freebie
- Nothing or minimal questions on the accounts (Accounts then adopted)
- Protests from one shareholder (aka VituVingiSana) who had relevant accounts/FS questions! After much mumbling allowed to ask why growth in assets doesn't match overall industry. Charles (FD) explained a major customer withdrew his "holdings" after the liability matured.

AOB:
The non-financial questions were answered at this stage. There was an EXCEPTIONALLY long letter read by an old man who protested about lack of a Barclays branch in his town, short opening hours, high fees, etc.

Complaints abounded on the delays by BARS, removal of chairs at BARS offices, etc. The Marks of BARS were asked to stand up & be recognized! Board was going to look into the matter.

So there was a boxed lunch but had to leave ASAP so no idea what was in it but the management ended up at the Inter-Continental Hotel.

The Kengen setup

Our high expectations about Kengen must ‘fail’ for the good of the country’s future IPO's and stock exchange.

Politics showed its’ hand when the share allocation was made democratic as possible. As a result institutional and foreign investors were short-changed in the process which was now tilted to favour wananchi. The hunger to own a new company, cheaply available at the stock exchange followed and the flames were fanned by banks, employers and financial institutions who availed easy cheap loan to borrowers to engage in the risky business of share buying.

Meanwhile, large investors set aside millions of dollars and shillings for months leading to the IPO, only to receive a maximum $1,000 worth of shares when the results were announced.

Future IPO’s may not be as popular with wananchi as Kengen was – and the government will need the support of these financial, institutional, and foreign investors to participate in these subscriptions e.g. of Telkom and other state corporations.

Most important is that investors need a reality check – to learn that there is no sure thing about share prices - (even Safaricom). If you buy a share at 11.90 today, to sell it at 60 tomorrow it is only possible if there’s someone who believes that it is worth 100, and so will happily buy it at 60. The same lesson should be applied to banks who engage in such risky lending – and can now see that there are investors who will not buy our shares at 60 or 38 or maybe even 25 shillings.

We all bought Kengen with thoughts of Kenya Airways and Mumias-like appreciation in prices, but probably forgot that these shares were un-loved until only recently, and languished for some years after their IPO.

Bank’s we don’t need

From today’s papers, we have news on two groups applying for licenses to open banks. One is by a group that denies it has any tribal conotations despites it's MEGA name while the other hopes to be offer the Sharia banking services.
The first conjures up memories of dark days of the 1970’s when tribal empowerment groups sent shivers across the rest of the country. The Bank should not be licensed because it does not serve any purpose or group that it not already accessing banking services.

The second has a clearer purpose, and will join Barclays which started a similar service last year, but given the level of paranoia among many Kenyan Christians about anything-Islam, as witnessed during the 2005 referendum, the group efforts might also come up short.

Banking is about inclusiveness (for a fee), not discrimination or controversy - and it is in the best interests of the banking sector if these banks are not licensed.

Training Kenyans for outsourcing

Yesterday marked the the launch of the Digital Age Institute whose vision is bringing Bangalore to Kenya. It is a joint vesture between SCR and Imatec (Kenya), with support from DANIDA and offers training in software development that meets international outsourcing standards as well exporting the software developed. The institute which has a capacity of 340 students hopes to become a full university within 10 years, and currently software development for mobile phones is one of the most popular courses.

The PS for Informnation & Communications, Dr. Bitange Ndemo was also at the event and revealed that:
- Indian and Chinese companies are setting up outsourcing centres in Kenya since they are cheaper to operate here. It was also mentioned that it takes just 3 weeks to train Kenyans to speak with perfect British or American accents!
- They are encouraging more companies to adopt open source platforms
- Staring with the budget this year, there will be no tax on computers accessories
- Communications costs must come down (In the US a gigabyte costs $20 while it’s about $1,800 in Kenya)
- Incubation centers will be set up at universities

Kengen IPO refund to investors

I trooped to get my IPO refund today - and it was a bit scary passing some brokerages houses on Kimathi Street which had long lines of people stretching outside the building as they awaited their refunds. But, my stockbroker/bank is about two miles out of town which means the crowd is slightly smaller and I get better, and faster, service.

Every broker has a system for refunds but once I found myself in the right place, I gave in my details and then sat in a cool tent waiting for my number to be called. A waiter tapped everyone on the shoulder offering them a soda to which almost everyone quietly asked “how much?” to which he happily replied “It’s free, one soda each!”.

Despite the speedy service it still took about two hours to get my 0.000033% of the massive IPO refund. Since the volume of applications was unprecedented and the timetable strict, refund cheques were sent from KCB back without being sorted to brokers - who now had to weed out each refund cheque.

good/bad about banks
Generally refunds is easier at the bigger banks who have more space in their halls, more staff on call, and can quickly open new desks and teller windows dedicated to share matters. They are also able to process cheques, but at a fee. My bank offered to cash my cheque for 1,000 shillings (15% of my refund) - but I instead opted to make another long trek to KCB who did it for 200 shillings.

The CMA needs to set some ground rules for future IPO’s including:
- Brokers & institutions must demonstrate they have the capacity (space, competent staff) to handle volumes of new investors. It probably took each working investor an hour to buy Kengen shares and another hour to collect a refund cheque – productive time spent away form the office.
- Have standard fees for bankers cheques, and encashing refund cheques (and also for dividend cheques).
- Review and restrict lending for shares in future.
- Another loophole that needs to be sealed is that an investor can have as many CDS accounts as possible. This means that they can get the maximum IPO allocation (6,600 Kengen shares) several times over.

Banks have greater advantage in terms of offerign financial products. They have a captive audience (stuck in long lines)and are able to sell them other products including mortgage and stockbroking if they chose to. Recently, insurance companies have been asking for financial laws to be changed to enable their products to also be sold at banks.

So where did the money go?
Despite my earlier protestation that any dividend not re-invested is wasted my money is going to go towards day to day expenses, debt repayments and pilsner (I have encountered too many flat Tusker's of late). This is because the refund money is coming in the middle of the month, when most of us are very broke. Also there’s not much else to buy on the NSE with 7,000 shillings, now that Kengen shares already selling for over 30/= - so it's abstinence for now, till the next IPO.

Job opportunities (May 19)

Some jobs advertised in the local papers this week

ABC Bank
- head of corporate banking
- head of business banking
- head of branch banking
Apply to hr@abcthebank.com by May 31.

Project assistants at AMREF. Apply to recruitment@amrefke.org by June 2.

Celtel Kenya
- tax accounting leader
- products & service leaders
Apply to hr@ke.celtel.com by 26 May.

Coca Cola (Nairobi Bottlers)
- market intimacy & brand mix manager
- production manager
- procurement officer
Apply to the country HR manager p o box 18034-00500 Nairobi by May 30.

Commercial bank of Africa
- assurance and treasury general manager
- IT network and communication manager
- senior manager finance and administration
Apply to jobs@cba.co.ke by 31 May.

Program officer for media, arts, and culture at the Ford foundation. Details at http://www.fordfound.org/employment and deadline is June 12.

Head of operational risk compliance at KCB. Apply to the divisional director HR p o box 48400-00100 by June 2.

Kenya tourist board
- Board secretary legal officer
- Management accountant
- Webmaster
Apply to head of HR p o box 30630-00100 by 6 June.

manager public service & development at KPMG. Apply to psr@kpmg.co.ke by June 2.

Ministry of Justice & Constitutional Affairs - Government of Kenya
- special prosecution counsel
- civic/commercial counsel
- forensic auditors
For these short term consultancies, apply to the permanent secretary at the ministry, p o box 56057 Nairobi by 15 June.

Ministry of Regional Development
- The managing director Ewaso Ng’iro development authority. Apply to ennda@kenyaweb.com.
The managing director Kerio Valley development authority. Apply to kvda@kenyaweb.com
Details at http://www.regional-dev.go.ke/ and deadline is June 5.

Regional accountants (2) at Oxfam. Apply to hecajobs@oxfam.org.uk by 31 May.

Sameer Africa
- general manager sales & marketing
- brand managers (Uganda and Tanzania)

Sales & marketing manager at a stock broking firm

For these, send applications though Manpower associates, p o box 50736-00200 by 31 May.

Consultancies
- To help the Kenya Revenue Authority obtain ISO 9001:2000 certification.

Phone Company eats its children

Simu ya jamii phones have provided employment opportunities, and been a lucrative side business for many people including disabled Kenyans, cyclists, owners of kiosks and cybercafés. But operators' profits have taken a tumble of late owing to the licensing of additional operators as well as mobile phone companies own products – such as sambaza and me2u which have made it possible for traditional 'simu ya jamii customers' to receive fractional airtime gifts from other mobile users.

Kenya telecommunication license bundle

The Communications Commission of Kenya has officially tendered the license for a second national telephone operator to compete with Telkom Kenya.

As promised by the Government, the license also included a national cellular license, which effectively kills off non-starting Econet who have been unable to get moving after three years (they will probably sue the Government unsuccessfully, further delaying the license)

The license includes: local voice & data access, national long distance voice & data access, national cellular mobile, international voice gateway, commercial VSAT and internet backbone.

Experienced telecommunication operators who have a proven annual turnover of $150 million and manage over 500,000 subscribers are invited to bid provided they will be 30% partnered with Kenyans. Deadline for applications is June 30 and the license will be awarded in January 2007.

Don’t sell Kengen

Official allocation results of Kengen IPO were published today for the shares, which start trading on Wednesday May 17.

Applicants who applied for 500 (will get 500 shares), 1,000 - (812 shares), 2000 - (1,436), 5,000 - (3,309), 10,000 - (6,431) and applicants who applied for more than 10,000 will also receive only 6,431 shares.

Already some lucky investors are planning to cash out at 30/= or 50/= shillings per share within a few weeks of the shares trading.

However, institutional investors, who were short-changed in the allocations, may hold firm and choose to wait out the individual shareholders (burdened by bank and other loans) by holding out to buy at the lowest price, preferably at or below the IPO price of 12/=.

The best performing shares I bought in the last year are Express Kenya and Diamond Trust which have both gained about 78% to date. But they pale in comparison to other shares held for many years such as KCB and Kenya Airways which have only come into their own recently with strong management and direction, and have yielded over 1,000% each, not including dividends.

So it pays to keep the shares over the long term and not to cash out of Kengen this year.

Kenya gets 'Tivo'

Multichoice Kenya has introduced personal video recorders, allowing recording of up to 80 hours. Also subscribers can watch 2 different channels simultaneously while recording a third and rewind live TV events. Cost is 51,000 shillings (about $700). It is always refreshing when a company promises and meets targets it has set.

The company is also offering standard decoders at a discounted price of 20,000 shillings, marketed around the upcoming World Cup in June.

May 12 jobs & other opportunities

Jobs

ABC Bank
- Head of liability management & institutional banking
- Liability relationship managers (3 in Nairobi, 1 at Mombasa)
Apply by May 25 to hr@abcthebank.com.

Fundraising and PR officer at AMREF. Apply to jobs@amrefhq.org by 24 May.

Chief accountant at CGB Foods. Apply to the HRM at info@cgbfoods.com

Fashion Brands Ltd
- General manager
- Sales representative
Apply to fashionbrandkenya@yahoo.com by 30 May.

Investment analyst at ICEA Investment Services. Apply to the managing director 46143-00100 Nairobi by 18 May.

Relationship managers at a large international bank opening offices in Kenya in two months. Apply through Manpower Associates, P O Box 50736-00100 Nairobi by May 22.

Finance & administration officer at Independent Medico – Legal unit. Details at www.imiu.org and deadline is 19 May.

Kenya Wildlife Services
- corporate communications officer
- resource mobilization manager
Apply to the director KWS P O Box 40241-00100 by 24 May.

Assistant regional accounting coordinator – Africa at Land O’ Lakes. Apply to Sheila@landolakes by 26 May.

Senior accountant at New KCC. Apply to the HRM P O Box 30131-00100 by 24 May.

Chief financial officer at Precision Air, Tanzania. Apply through PWC at pwrecruit@precisionairtz.com by May 26.

Sales, finance, and marketing management trainees at Reckitt Benckiser. Apply to hr.rbea@reckittbenckiser.com by May 19.

Micro-finance coordinator at SCC-Vi Eastern Africa. Apply to jobs@scckenya.or.ke by 26 May.

Sports stadia management board
- Chief accountant
- Audit assistant
- Storekeeper
- Sales & reservation officer
- Caretaker (estate officer)
Apply to hr@stadiumskenya.co.ke by 31 May.

Consulting

The Ministry of Finance to identify and devise ways of eliminating all state corporation (parstatal)-related contingent liabilities. D/L is June 7.

GJLOS: training program on culture and attitude change for the Kenya Police. Deadline June 16.

Kenya Pipeline Company is hiring a corporate communication firm. D/L is June 9.

Kenya Ports Authority to survey and dredge Kilindini harbour. D/L is June 26.

Various at the Nile Basin Initiative. D/L is June 14.

Education
The Higher Education Loans Board is providing loans & scholarships for study in Kenya during the 2006 – 07 academic year.

Housing
The National Housing Corporation is selling 600 flats at Madaraka Estate in Nairobi, comprising 192 2 bedroom flat at 1.6 million shillings, and 408 3 bedroom flats at 2 million. Further enquiries can be made to the secretariat, Madaraka sale committee P O Box 30257-00100 Nairobi. Forms are available at a non-refundable 1,000 shilling fee from NHC and should be returned with 10% deposit in bankers cheque by 10 July.

Current tenants say the apartments have been over-valued and are also protesting the short period of time they are being asked to raise money for buy houses they have lived in and paid for, some for the last 30 years.

ICICI Bank to Kenya

ICICI, India’s largest private bank (and 2nd overall) plans to open a representative office in Kenya within the next few months. It has been called India's most aggressive bank, with a strong corporate banking operation, and is also that country's largest issuer of credit cards. ICICI’s arrival into Kenya comes after the State Bank of India's takeover of Giro Bank last year.

Kengen IPO Results

From Apex Africa Investment Bank:



KENGEN ANNOUNCEMENTS

SHARE ALLOCATION


SHARES APPLIED ALLOCATION

500 ALL 100%

1,000 820 82%

2,000 1,400 70%

4,000 2,600 65%

5,000 3,400 68%

10,000 6,600 66%
& ABOVE

REFUND THURSDAY, 11TH MAY 2006

TRADING WEDNESDAY, 17TH MAY 2006

Bank consulting opportunities

Investment Banking
The Government of Kenya has re-activated plans to privatize two banks (likely to be National Bank of Kenya and Consolidated Bank) and is inviting investment banks or consultants to advise on the preparation of the two banks for privatization. Some aspects of the work include marketing the banks to buyers, feasibility & valuations, and selling off non-performing assets of the banks. Deadline for applications to the Bank Restructuring & Privatization Project (info@brpp.go.ke) is June 30 and the banks are expected to be sold on or before December 2007.

Technology
Kenya Commercial Bank is seeking companies to provide a core system to support the bank’s operations. Deadline is June 2.

Cement inflation

The East African Portland cement company, a.k.a blue triangle, has increased cement prices by about 5% reflecting higher energy costs in the production of cement in the country.

Kenya multi-media technology park

A breakfast meeting was held today to discuss plans for a multi-media technology park to be located in Athi River / Kitengela area. This is one of the key milestones in the ICT policy, which was approved by the Cabinet, but is yet to be passed by Parliament.

The multi media park is to be modelled along the likes of Egypt’s Smart Village and Ebene in Mauritius.

Microsoft has already signed up to be the first tenant of the park and has offered to assist in its design.

The first park may be hosted by the Export Processing Zone Authority on their 1,000 acres in Athi River. In addition to tax benefits, the zone already offers various benefits including, cheap rents, easily obtainable immigration permits for companies (guaranteed for general manger, technical manager, financial manager and 2 directors), connected with fibre optic cable, and guaranteed electricity supply from KPLC.

Athi River/Kitengela is close to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and over 20,000 new housing units are being built in the area. Some major problems facing the area are water shortages and traffic congestion. But the traffic problems could be alleviated by the (soon) construction of dual carriageway road from Machakos to Nairobi and removal of the mlolongo weighbridge to a location further down Mombasa road.

Government
The Minister (Mutahi Kagwe) and permanent secretary (Bitange Ndemo) of Information & Communications are a dynamic pair whos’ vision is to make Kenya be known as an ICT destination, not just for tourism, politics, coffee, and tea. The two are very passionate about ICT and how the country and people can use ICT to achieve development and business goals.

Minister Kagwe also said;
- The government would set up an ICT board to market the country as an ICT destination (similar to the Kenya tourism board).
- Confirmed the country would go it alone (& look for support elswhere) on the EASSy submarine cable project if Kenyan demands for time, quality, and cost are not met. (SA is to blame for most delays)
- Said the recent Kengen fundraising demonstrates the country has enough capital to meet its development needs, if channelled properly.
- Called on media to hype business in Kenya not endless political stories.
- Called on the business community to be more assertive in challenging the government when they feel aggrieved.
- Is convinced Kenya can put up a better park than Egypt
and invited the private sector to also set up their own parks with the government giving incentives.
- Said ICT products would be zero rated in the upcoming budget in June 2006

Other bits
- Rural Internet: Telkom Kenya will begin rolling out wireless CDMA this month with affordable units costing about $30. Also the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) is willing to waive some licensing charges for companies that want to start rural ISP’s.
- Business incubators: Incubator policy is expected to be passed by Parliament by the end of 2006.
- Training: The Kenya College of Communications & Technology (KCCT) has been transferred from Telkom Kenya to the CCK to better serve the country's ICT training needs.

Cheap Mombasa to Nairobi Tickets

From Coastweek: Kenya Airways is offering a special discounted price of Kenya shillings 2,500 ($35) one way on the Mombasa to Nairobi route up to 31st May 2006.

Bull market for Nairobi shares

The Kengen IPO has been a tsunami of sorts for the Kenyan financial system. First it soaked up a record amount of cash - dragging down share prices and the stock market in the process as it soaked up liquidity in the market.

Now with subscribers getting at most 5,000 shares each of Kengen stock, over 18 billion shillings will be returned to investors. A recent Indian IPO survey found that 2/3 of investors used their IPO refunds to invest in the stock market.

Ther market has already started rising with smart investors already taking positions in everything and bidding shares up to record highs (ARM up 8, Kenya Airways up 7, KPLC up 6, CFC up 3.5, HFCK up 2.5, Mumias up 6, and KCB up 16 shillings today) in anticipation of selling them once the Kengen refund wave pushes share prices even higher later this month.

Nairobi Kenya Jobs (May 5)

PR & communications officer at AAR - Africa Air Rescue. Apply to recruit@aar.co.ke by 15 May.

Senior lecturers at Aga Khan University Nairobi. Details here.

Research East Africa at Amnesty International, to be based in Kampala. Deadline is May 10 and apply online.

Care international
- Project officer – early childhood development
- Project officer - nutrition
Apply to hrmanager@care.or.ke by 19 May.

Senior Project Technical Specialist – Senior Consultant at ESD Ltd. Details here. and apply to camille@esd.co.uk by 12 May.

Federation of women lawyers/FIDA Kenya
- Senior program officer, rights team
- Assistant program officer, rights team
- Librarian/documentalist
- 2 counsellors
Apply to info@fida.co.ke by 17 May.

Haco industries
- Brand manager cleaning/hygiene
- Sales representative promotional writing instruments
- Inventory accountant
- Production supervisor (BIC)
- 3 Plane maintenance technicians
Apply to jobs@haco.co.ke by 19 May.

Huawei
- Service delivery manager
- Bidding engineer for technical support services
Apply to Kenya@huawei.com by 17 May.

K-Rep Bank
- Database & network administrator
- user support analyst
Apply to itjobs@k-repbank.com by 17 May.

Head of internal audit at Kenya Airports Authority. Apply through hawkins.associates@khigroup.com.

Managing director at Kenya Industrial Estates. Apply to the company secretary p o box 78029-00507 by 19 May.

Kenya Human Rights Commission
- institute coordinator
- senior program officer, research & advocacy
- programme officer advocacy
- 2 assistant program officers – outreach
- executive secretary
- office assistant/driver
Apply to the executive director KHRC p o box 41079-00100 Nairobi by 15 May.

Senior accountant at Nairobi Hospital. Apply to hrm@nbihosp.org by 15 May.

Corporate solutions advisers at Nairobinet online. Apply to hr@nbnet.co.ke by 12 May.

Oserian Flowers(Oserian development company)
- IT manager
- Management accountant
Apply to jobs@oserian.com by 19 May.

Also Oserian is seeking graduate trainees (aged under 27, with agricultural degrees and who are passionate about floriculture) to apply to jobs@oserian.com by 22 May.

Assets & Liabilities Committee (ALCO) Officer at Stanbic Kenya.

Head of marketing at UAP Insurance. Apply to recruit@adeptsystems.co.ke by 19 May.

Senior internal auditor at World vision. Apply to recruit_kenya@wvi.org by 17 May.

Shooting Star

Once again speculation in East African Cables stock has resulted in an an unconventional jump from 204 to 213 shillings (9 shillings) per share on a volume of just under 3,000 shares traded yesterday. Compare that to another fast rising stock - HFCK that gained 2 shillings (24.75 to 26.75 shillings) on a volume of about 300,000 shares traded on the same day.

Earlier this year, EA Cables made another astounding 17 shilling jump on an even smaller volume of just 1,000 shares.

Where will the money go?

Over 18 billion shillings will soon be refunded to investors who will not receive the full amount of Kengen shares they applied for.

These include instituional investors and thousands of applicants who pooled in their savings, sold assets, or took loans from bank, employers, cooperative societies and informal financial groups. (Other Nairumoured would-be investors include a couple of MP’s who sat in a restaurant one night plotting how they would each buy a few million shillings worth of Kengen shares and one of Kenya Airways top 10 shareholders who cashed in most of his high-flying shares to repeat the process afresh with Kengen).

Where will the money go? Will banks call in their money or will some investors choose to repay their loans? With t-bills at about 7%, leaving the money in the bank will not earn enough to repay the loans. Will spurned investors continue buy Kengen share at the market rate after May 19 whether it's 10 shillings or 20 shillings per share? A quality share that trades at 12 shillings. is a rare thing in Kenya. Will they buy other similarly priced shares or take the refund and buy matatu's or real estate? Brokers would love for the money to be used to buy other shares and the stock market could receive a significant boost. Or will they wait for the next IPO, probably in a few months time?

Infrastructure opportunities

- Mumias Sugar Company seeking assistance in setting up co-generation facility to enable the company to supply 30MW of electricity to the national grid.

- Magadi Soda has tendered for a company to maintain their 146km railway line from Konza to Lake Magadi.

Barclays goes simple

Kenya’s largest bank, Barclays, is the latest bank to embrace the flat fee banking concept. Barclays bouquet has three options; for 490 shillings per month (includes free ATM withdrawals, VISA card, statements and transfers) for 590/= (add chequebook and telebanking) and for 1,200/= per month (add free OTC withdrawals and access to Prestige banking centers).

The attraction of flat fee banking is a basket of offerings to customers for a simple, single monthly fee as opposed to the myriad of individual bank charges for everyday services that frustrate customers and add up to several hundred shillings a month reducing customer savings.

Going Shags

I don’t travel much these days to shags (rural village home area) and it has been over a year since my last visit. The main reason is the bad state of the roads - with what used to be a 5 hour journey now taking at least 10 hours - on some of the worst possible roads in the country e.g. from Naivasha to Nakuru (including an additional rough 20km diversion) and the last 60 km to Eldoret town.

journey
Driving one’s own car is an unwise decision and likely to lead to tyre, suspension or other serious problems (bottom of car was scraped over numerous rocky road stretches) during or soon after the journey.

Besides the bad roads, other things contribute to delay;
- The occasional pot holes even on good stretches of road - which is where I got a puncture
- In many places where the roads are good, local people have put up humongous bumps to slow you down. Many of these have no warning signs and I hit a few at quite high speed. I later learnt that whenever you see any building esp. school, town, or even a signboard, it’s a good idea to slow down and expect to find some bumps
- police road blocks – there are too many of these and they appear to serve no purpose than to extort money from commercial vehicles. These guys should be performing security operations, not harassing motorists.
- Petty errands. It’s always best to drive non-stop, but some passengers (esp. women) always want to stop for lunch, visit relatives, buy fruit or vegetable etc.

Advice for going shags
- carry small denomination notes – have a separate wad of 50 and 100 and 200 shilling notes.
- avoid giving mobile number or you will be pestered by anyone who later visits the city.

observations
cousins: I have cousins who have been ravaged by alcohol and unemployment - lazy guys who drink all day and are prone to violent outbursts of frustration. I always wonder if I would have turned out like them I had grown up there or if my folks had never left the village to further their education.



They are hustlers who work on you, like Samuel Jackson’s great character in Jungle Fever for your money (hence the wad of loose cash). One said he wanted to replace a stolen mobile phone, 2 asked for money for fertilizer for maize fields, and one was honest enough to ask for drink money – but I suspect they all ended up in same drinking den where nothing like Tusker is served.

news: Going shags used to mean going incommunicado for day. Now one can listen to KISS or Capital FM, use mobile phones, play pool, and newspapers are easier to get. There's still no cybercafé even though I am told the post office was the only internet place but it was closed on Sunday which I checked.

clothes: We used to be take old clothes - torn, worn, too small etc. to donate to our cousins. Now they enough have mitumba clothes sold on each market day and they all have the same fake Arsenal shirts and hip jeans as urbanites.

dogs There seems to have been some crossbreeding since the usual shags dogs now show signs of having some Alsatian and Spaniels genes.

Banking & Financial Briefs

New cards
- I&M Classic. Cardholders can transfer from their other credit cards and pay the balance off at zero interest rate.
- KCB has launched a new MasterCard in partnership with Serena hotels

New children accounts
Standard Chartered has launched safari junior and Imperial has launched marble junior cards as they enter a market dominated populated by Co-op and Barclays banks.

New bank awards
Market Intelligence has announced that a banking industry awards gala will be held to be held on June 7.

New MD
Mr. Frank Ireri is the new managing director at Hosuing Finance Company of Kenya (HFCK).

Bright future for NBK?
National Bank of Kenya still has a 4.3 billion shilling deficit which means it can't pay dividends despite its recent profitability. However the Government has plans to wipe out the deficit by settling 16.6 billion worth of past government-initiated advances during this 2006–07 financial year as part of the bank restructuring & privatization project.

Cartel?
On Wednesday, petrol prices went up at most Nairobi stations by between 2/= and 3/= per lire at most stations ina tandem. Compare this to the banking industry where two banks can charge customers from zero to 2,000 for the same service.

Kengen shocker?
The Sunday Standard editorial blames stockbrokers for last minute rush of Kengen applications - challenging that they churned investors funds and only placed orders at the last minute. I went to buy shares in the middle of the period and on the last two days to to correct errors – and IMHO there was the same volume of people each day. I however disagree with Standard argument that those who applied earlier should be given allotment preference. Everyone should be treated equally during the IPO period.

How much is enough?
BOC announced preliminary results showing that 73.53% of Carbacid shareholders have accpted their takeover offer.

Labour Day Opportunities

Celtel
- risk fraud & reconciliation leader
- reporting leader
Apply to the HRD at hr@ke.celtel.com by May 12.

Check CTC CTC for airline, travel, tourism and other hospitality sector jobs.

Emirates junior cargo assistant clerk. Check this site
and apply online by 15 May.

4 commissioner positions at the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights KNHCR for 5 year terms. Candidates must be Kenyan citizens of good moral standing. Apply to the clerk of the national assembly p o box 41842-00100 Nairobi by May 10.

Microsoft West, East & Central Africa positions based in Nairobi
- global strategic account manager
- developer & platform evangelist
- data quality assurance analyst
- marketing manager
- technology specialist
- enterprise sales manager
- response management specialist
- product marketing manager
- PR & events executive
Details at this Microsoft site and apply to v-odenge@microsoft.com by May 5.

head of finance at modern business communications MBC. Apply by May 8 to info@mbckenya.com.