National Bank: was the first bank to release half year results with assets up 25%, deposits up 22% and profits up 35% from June 2006. The big transformation comes from Kshs. 20 government bond plan which have now been absorbed in the bank's financial statements. What does it do? While government securities are up 6X (from Kshs. 3.96 to 23.57 billion), it also chops 2/3 of loans off their books (drop to 27.34b to Kshs. 7.34 billion). The restructured balance sheet also helped profits as NBK reduced provisions from Kshs. 1b last June to Kshs. 350m at this half year.
But NBK is not out of the woods yet. While the gross non performing assets from 34b to a more manageable Kshs. 5 billion this is still about 75% of NBK's loan book which, as the MD mentioned at the AGM many cases are still stuck in court.
Econet: After three years of being persona non grata, Econet has been given the green light by the government to roll out operations and its network. In the three wasted years that Econet has wrangled with shareholders and the government, much has changed. Celtel has engaged super-profitable Safaricom in a war for customers even as Telkom wireless has become a viable alternative to an extent that the need for a third mobile operator may have passed. Also what happened to anyone who applied for jobs there? For Econet, not going to be easy to assert themselves and with networks so expensive and unless they get new shareholders and partners with investment resources and regulatory muscle.
Equity muscle: strong back to get heavy hitters like the Minister of Finance, the Central Bank of Kenya and the Nairobi Stock Exchange to come to your defense. Econet should talk to them
Investor outreach: Following in the steps of the Suntra - Postbank partnership, stockbroker Ngenye Kariuki has partnered with K-Rep bank to offer stockbroking services at the banks branches.
Happenings in North Eastern Kenya: The Kenya Revenue Authority sets up shop at Wajir Airport as the Kenya power & lighting company plans to open up stations in Mandera, Wajir, and Garissa.
Who needs e-mail? : The postal corporation of Kenya plans to increase the cost of corporate mail boxes and sending most letters (small/mid size envelopes), to reflect the increased cost of doing business.
Takeovers: James Finlay takes over Homegrown (flowers), and Krystalline Salt acquires the Mombasa salt works company
Government pork : Jaindi Kisero points some out uncertain projects that are going to be funded by tax revenue including 1.3billion to purchase a ranch in Nyeri District to settle squatters, 400 million to settle hawkers, 200 million to purchase shares in De La Rue, Sh 140 to buy shares in Panpaper, 641 million for coffee debts, 664 million for pyrethrum debt, and 15 billion for Telkoms’ tax arrears
Education
- Teachers over-borrowing: The Teacher Service Commission (TSC) has told banks it will stop allowing check-off loans. They fear some teacher have over-committed themselves i.e. borrowed so much that they take home less than 1/3 of their salary after all deductions are made. (One teacher is not happy about the change)
- Universities: Two new universities to open soon - KCA University at Ruaraka and Presbyterian University at Kikuyu. Also both Kenya Methodist University and University of Nairobi will open campuses in Mombasa as Kenyatta University opens one in Kitui
Odds:
- MP Jakoyo Midiwo has sued to wind up the Kenya Times (Media Trust)
- Former managing director of Mugoya, James Mugoya Isabirye, is wanted by the Kenya police. The receiver manager has also offered a generous reward
- Why does the High court have a summer vacation (from 1 august to 15 September)?
Jobs
- Action Aid: head of finance Somalia
- Equity bank: credit managers, bank managers. E-mail jobs@equitybank.co.ke by 28/7
- First community bank: IT product specialist, audit offer, business relationship officers, corporate relationship assistants, private banking officers, credit administration officers, trade finance assistant managers, tellers, head tellers, customer service representatives. Apply to fcb_vacancies@ahmedabdi.com by 30/7
- Knight Frank: senior valuer, property manager, residential sales manager, site acquisition agent. Email info@ke.knightfrank.com by 27/7
- Sub editors at the Nairobi Star newspaper: Apply to jobs@nairobistar.com by 31/7
- Spencon: head of internal audit, senior internal auditor, internal auditor, business analyst, marketing & communications assistant, group contracts manager, contracts manager, IT/ERP professionals. E-mail recruitment@spencon.net by 10/8
6 comments:
great info for a monday banks,
its still tough for NBK,but there's nothing better than a bank that gets down and deals with its loan book.(compare this to the banks in japan that simply hid the loans in subsidiary firms,and operated as zombies thereon)
as for econet wireless.i'd advice them to target a specific (underserved) market segment,buy airtime wholesale from Safcom or celtel and with some value addition launch kenya's first mobile-virtual operation (mvno).
my sentiments exactly. econet should reorganise their focus on what their core business would be and segment the already saturated market space to provide unique services that the other big players aren't doing yet. something like vsat provision and concentration on rural access should give them that edge.
on other news, you my friend have been tagged. pole - u'll have to deviate abit from bank news... :)
Econet should petition the CCK to fastrack the 'Infrastructure Sharing' agreement between the service providers and then ta a fee, they can roll-out soonest. But i dont think that MJ and Murray may be interested in giving a competitor such a smooth ride! They also have to sort out their shareholder mess before they can work out the modalities of running in business.
click to http://assidous.blogspot.com
Re Econet, I wonder if it was deliberate, the delay. Wait until Safaricon was very profitable, Telkom is out and about...
The judges' vacation is annoying-who do they think they are, students? No wonder there is such a backlog of cases. And most also get like a month for training...Not a judiciary for a working nation that is for sure.
Anonymous: i applaud them, but they have carried them for hwo many years, earning interestr?
Marazzmatazz: oh no you didn't! will try and work on a list, though I think I did '7 things' meme about a month ago
mmnjug: Econet will have to pay for infrastructure - either other mobile companies or have to put up their own (do tehy have cash for either?)
MainaT: I don't think events are related.
-as for judges, judiciary and parliament have retained so many bad colonial habits (that we can't afford)
Kenyans have conveniently been tricked through shenanigans to forget that the Econet deal is one of the most corrupt deals ever experienced in the country. The culprits behind this decision to start operations are only doing so, so they can take over KNFC's shares. With a certain politician back in the fold, the original mastermind of the scam's son in law is busy executing his agenda through the Ministry while Kenyans mistakenly think the deal is a good one for them. Just because an operator is coming in does not mean it should come in corruptly!
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