Topicals



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Recent Topicals

Kisumu Real Estate Investment Opportunity

Jul 21, 2018

In line with our regional expansion strategy, we continue to assess investment opportunities in the Kenyan Counties, to enable us to diversify our portfolio of real estate investments for our clients. So far, we have covered 13 Kenyan Counties, including; Nyeri, Laikipia, Meru, Mombasa, Narok, Homabay, Kisii and Uasin Gishu. In line with this, in August 2016 we released the Kisumu Real Estate Investment Opportunity 2016, a research note that focused on the real estate market performance in Kisumu covering the residential, commercial offices, retail and hospitality themes. According to the research note, the market recorded average rental yields of 7.0%, with office, retail, and residential themes recording average rental yields of 7.0%, 9.0%, and 5.1%, respectively. In this focus, we update that...

Developing Technical Education Institutions with a Focus on Vision 2030

Jul 15, 2018

Over the recent months, we have seen the Kenyan Government focus on improving the quality of education offered in government-sponsored technical institutions. Some of the actions the government has taken are (i) increasing budgetary allocation towards the development of the Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions and (ii) proposing to reduce tuition fees for courses offered in TVET institutions. This is motivated by (i) the need to create a workforce that will help in the implementation of the Big Four Agenda in the sectors of manufacturing and affordable housing, and (ii) the need to achieve the Vision 2030 goals on technical training. According to Vision 2030, the government seeks to ensure equitableness and access to Technical, Vocational Education, and Training. This will be achieved by establishing a central body to place government-sponsored students in TVET institutions,  building at least one vocational training center per Kenyan Constituency an...

Nairobi Metropolitan Area Residential Report 2017/2018

Jul 8, 2018

In September 2017, we released the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Residential Report 2017, which showed that residential sector performance softened in 2017, with the total returns coming in at 9.4% from 12.6% in 2016. The average rental yield was 5.6%, 0.4% points higher than the 5.2% recorded in 2016. However, average price appreciation was 3.8%, 3.6% points lower than the 7.4% recorded in 2016. The low performance was attributable to: A tough operating environment characterized by low credit supply, as a result of the implementation of the Banking (Amendment) Act 2015, which resulted in declining private sector credit growth from 25.8% in June 2014 to 1.7% as at September 2017, and,

Eurobonds in Sub-Saharan Africa

Jun 24, 2018

The first 5 months of 2018 have been characterized by 5 Eurobond issuances by Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) economies (Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana and South Africa), jointly raising USD 10.7 bn, with two more countries (Tanzania and Angola) having announced plans to raise foreign public debt through the same avenue this year. Last year, USD 18.0 bn was raised in foreign public debt by economies in Africa, and in the last 5 years, Kenya has had two separate issuances, in 2014 and 2018. Other SSA countries like Ghana and Nigeria have also had two issuances in the last 5 years, with countries like Tanzania looking to make their debut in this space this year. With the seemingly rising preference for SSA economies to raise long-term foreign public debt through the issue of Eurobonds, this week, we cover SSA as an attractive investment destination and the SSA Eurobonds issued in the last 5 years. For the 2018 Eurobonds, we look at their performance, amounts collected, use of the pro...

Kenya Listed Banks Q1’2018 Report

Jun 17, 2018

Following the release of the Q1’2018 results by Kenyan listed banks, the Cytonn Financial Services Research Team undertook an analysis on the Kenyan Banking Sector to point out any material changes from our FY’2017 Banking Report. In our Q1’2018 Banking Report, we analyze the results of the listed banks in order to determine which banks are the most attractive and stable for investment from a franchise value and from a future growth opportunity perspective. The report is themed “Diversification and efficiency key to growth amidst tighter regulation. Asset quality remains a concern”, as we assess what factors will be crucial for the sustainable growth and stability of the banking sector, with banks adjusting their business models in an effort to manage tighter regulation and the tough business envi...