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Recent Topicals

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Sub-Saharan Africa Region Review

Jan 5, 2020

According to World Bank’s latest African Pulse Issue, Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic performance remained sluggish in 2019 with the preliminary projections indicating that the region grew marginally by 2.6% in 2019 from 2.5% in 2018. The growth was hampered by a challenging external environment, which saw the softening of global growth, falling commodity prices, increased trade tensions leading to heightened uncertainty, and subdued agricultural production partly due to drought in various countries in the region, coupled with security concerns, which affected production in some countries.  Currency Performance Regional currencies were relatively volatile in 2019, whi...

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Global Markets Review

Jan 5, 2020

The year 2019 was characterized by a slow-down in global growth, which was weighed down by the negative effects of the trade conflicts among the major economies. These include: An on-going trade dispute between the US and China, Uncertainty in Britain over its exit from the European Union (“Brexit”), Geopolitical tension between the US and Iran, disrupting the mid-stream and down-stream oil supply channel, and, Overall slowing global trade, which, according to the World Trade Organization, is forecasted to grow by 1.2% in 2019. According to IMF, global GDP growth in 2019 is expected to come in at 3.0%, a 0.3% point downgrade from their initial projection from the April 2019 World Economic Outlook, and lower than the 5-year average of 3.5%. The IMF downgraded their expec...

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Real Estate Investment Trusts, REITs, as an Investment Alternative

Dec 29, 2019

Following the licencing of Cytonn Asset Managers as a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Manager by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) in February 2019, Cytonn Investments Management Plc embarked on the process of structuring a REIT for two of its projects, The Ridge in Ridgeways and RiverRun Estates in Ruiru. This move was aimed at bringing access to high-yielding investments to investors in the regulated markets as well as diversifying funding sources for Cytonn’s real estate pipeline.  In this regard, this week we look at REITs both as a funding method for real estate developers, as well as an alternative asset class for investors. This focus will cover the topic as outlined below: Introduction to REITs, where we cover the definition of REITs, an...

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Home Ownership Savings Plan (HOSP) Update

Dec 22, 2019

This week we revisit our 15th September 2019 topical on Home Ownership Savings Plan, following the enactment of the Finance Act 2019 on 7th November 2019; the Act included Fund Managers or Investment Banks registered under the Capital Markets Act as approved institutions to hold deposits of a Home Ownership and Savings Plan (HOSP). The act will be effected as from January 2020. As such, we revisit the following: An Overview of the Affordable Housing Initiative and Home Ownership in Kenya, Background of Home Ownership Savings Plans in Kenya, Recent Development with regards to HOSP as in the Finance Act 2019, Impact of HOSP on the Affordable Housing Initiative, Areas that need to be focused on to make HOSP effective, Our Expectations Going Forward, a...

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Market Post Interest Rate Cap

Dec 15, 2019

This week, we revisit the interest rate cap topic following the Presidential assent of the Finance Bill, 2019 into law, which repealed Section 33B of the Banking Act that provided for the capping of bank interest rates. We, therefore, revisit the issue of the interest rate cap, focusing on: Background of the Interest Rate Cap Legislation - What Led to its Enactment? A Recap on our Analysis on the Subject, A Review of the Effects It Has Had So Far in Kenya, Recent Developments, Our Expectations Going Forward, and Conclusion. Section I:  Background of the Interest Rate Cap Legislation - What Led to Its Enactment?  The enactment of the Banking (Amendment) Act 2015 in September 2016, that capped lending rates at 4.0% above the Central Bank Rate (CBR), and deposit rates at 70.0% of the CBR, came against a backdrop of low trust in...

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