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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...

The FY 2018/19 Pre-Budget Discussion Note

Jun 14, 2018

The National Treasury is set to release the 2018/19 fiscal year (FY) budget today (14th June, 2018). As such, a lot of pre-budget discussions are taking place ahead of the official release at 3:00 pm, and we have taken the time to also write a note with our views before the budget is officially released. In this note, we discuss the following: A comparison of the 2018/19 and 2017/18 fiscal year budgets as per the 2018 Budget Policy Statement (2018 BPS), The fiscal year 2018/19 budget estimates as per recent news,

The Draft Financial Markets Conduct Bill, 2018

Jun 10, 2018

In our Focus Note on the interest rate cap review and how it should focus more on stimulating capital markets, published on 13th May, 2018, we highlighted that the Treasury was completing a draft proposal that would seek to address credit management in the economy. The National Treasury thus embarked on two recent possible solutions as follows: proposed a credit guarantee scheme for loans advanced to small and medium size enterprises (SMEs). The proposal is still at an early stage and the amounts and inception date are still not in place, as stakeholder consultations continue, and, developed a draft Financial Markets Conduct Bill, 2018 that will see the establishment of the Financial Markets Conduct Authority that will (a) regulate the cost of credit with...