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Recent Topicals

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Nairobi Metropolitan Area Commercial Office Report 2024

Mar 9, 2025

In 2024, we published the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Commercial Office Report 2024 themed ‘Persisting Tenant’s Market’. The report provided an in-depth analysis of the sector's performance in 2023, along with insights into future prospects and investment opportunities. According to the report, the sector experienced notable improvements, with average rental yield improved by 0.1% points to 7.7% in FY’2023 from 7.6% recorded in FY’2022, due to improved occupancy and rental rates. Average asking rents per SQFT in the NMA increased by 7.0% to Kshs 103 per SQFT from Kshs 96, owing to increased availability of high-quality Grade A office spaces, exemplified by Regus, Ikigai, and Spaces, which command premium rents. The overall occupancy rates increased by 0.1% points to 79.5% from 79.4% as a result of a slow but rising demand for physical space. Als...

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Kenya Currency and Interest Rates Review 2025

Feb 23, 2025

The Kenyan Shilling has experienced a marginal depreciation of 21.5 bps on a Year-to-Date against the US Dollar, closing the week at Kshs 129.6 as of February 21, 2025, compared to Kshs 129.3 at the beginning of the year. This is a contrast to the 17.4% appreciation in 2024 while in 2023, 2022, and 2021 the currency depreciated by 26.8%, 9.0%, and 3.6% respectively. The appreciation experienced in 2024 and the current stability of the Shilling is supported by improved forex reserves currently at USD 9.3 bn (equivalent to 4.7-months of import cover), an increase of 28.2% from USD 7.2 bn (equivalent to 3.9-months of import cover) recorded in a similar period in 2024, and an 18% increase in diaspora remittances to USD 4,945.0 mn in 2024 higher than USD 4,190.0 mn recorded in 2023 and the ease in inflation, with the current inflation rate as of January 2025 coming in at 3.3%, within the CBK target range of 2.5%-7.5%. The interest rates have seen significant decreases over the la...

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Everstrong Capital, Usahihi Expressway, and Local Fundraising Feasibility

Feb 16, 2025

Infrastructure development remains one of the key objectives of the Kenyan government as it seeks to achieve its vision 2030.  Good infrastructure reduces costs of doing business, attracts foreign investment, opens up remote areas to investment and boosts the trade competitiveness of the country. Recognizing this, the government continues to actively support infrastructure expansion through financing strategies such as Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), infrastructure bonds, debt financing, and substantial budgetary allocations, with a primary focus on road networks. According to the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) 2023-2027 Strategic Plan, the authority aims to construct 2,349 km of roads, including 1,183 km of new roads, capacity enhancements of 674 km, and rehabilitation of 492 km. Additionally, Ke...

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Review of Real Estate Investments Trusts (REITs) in Kenya

Feb 9, 2025

In 2024, the general Real Estate sector continued to witness considerable growth in activity in terms of property transactions and development activities. Consequently, the sector’s activity contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 5.5 % to Kshs 283.8 bn in Q3’2024, from Kshs 268.9 bn recorded during the same period in 2023. In addition, the sector contributed 10.8% to the country’s GDP, 0.3% points increase from 10.5% recorded in Q3’2023. Cumulatively, the Real Estate and construction sectors contributed 16.5% to GDP, 0.2% points lower than 16.7% in Q3’2023, contributable to decline in construction contribution to GDP by 0.4% points, to 5.7% in Q3’2024, from 6.1% recorded in Q3’2023. The decline in Construction sector was attributable to the high cost of building materials that led to a 2.0% contraction i...

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The Role of Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) in Finance and Investments in Kenya

Jan 26, 2025

A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), sometimes known as a Special Purpose Entity (SPE), is a legally separate and independent entity formed for a specific, defined purpose, typically to isolate financial risk. SPVs are widely utilized in securitization, project finance, structured finance, and asset-backed transactions. They are intended to be bankruptcy-resistant, meaning that their operations and liabilities are separate from the parent or sponsoring organization. We chose to focus on SPVs for two reasons: First is Limited Understanding: Given their limited understanding in the local market, yet they are crucial to bringing much needed capital to fund businesses and projects. Further, the High Court in a matter for one of our associate companies, order liquidation primarily based on the fact that a Funding SPV had lent money to a project SPV without getting the typical securities a bank would get, hence calling the arrangement “a kin to a fraud”. The...

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