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Recent Topicals

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Cytonn’s H1’2015 Banking Report

Sep 13, 2015

Following the release of the H1’2015 results by banks, we carried out an analysis on Kenya’s banking sector to decipher any material changes from our Q1’2015 banking report. The aim of the analysis is to answer the question: from an equity investor point of view, which is the most attractive listed bank to invest in for the long-term? In Kenya there are a total of 42 commercial banks, 12 microfinance banks and 1 mortgage finance institution. The Central Bank of Kenya regulates all banks. The Capital Markets Authority has additional oversight over the listed banks, which are 11 in number. As at H1’ 2015, the banking sector recorded a slow-down in growth, growing at 8.3% compared to 15.6% in 2014, with the slowdown being attributed to poor economic performance on the back of increased non performing loans and the uncertainty in the interest rate environm...

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Ruaka Real Estate Investment Opportunity

Aug 30, 2015

 Kenya has grown through the years to become East and Central Africa’s business and financial centre. Houses for sale in upcoming areas of Nairobi and its metropolis, where growth is centred, are highly sought after. The diverse population lends itself to providing a truly cosmopolitan city serving as the regional headquarters for some of the world’s largest corporations such as General Electric, Hewlett-Packard, Google, & Coca-Cola. Growth in the economy has had a profound positive effect on the middle class, who have benefitted greatly on the back of improved economic conditions, which has resulted in increased demand of residential housing outpacing market supply. Kenya’s residential property market in middle income category has seen a price surge resulting in the market outperforming most other asset classes in Kenya over the last 10 years.

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Housing opportunities for the low to middle income bracket in Kenya

Aug 23, 2015

In October last year, Kenya was declared a middle-income country having achieved per capita income of USD 1,160, and surpassed the World Bank threshold of USD 1,036, after the GDP was rebased. The new status is an indicator of the growing Kenyan economy, which translates into increasing demand by the expanding middle class that will lead to increased demand for goods and services, including good housing. Provision of basic services to this middle class will lead to further increase in economic growth. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, the Kenyan middle class can be defined as anyone having a disposable income of Kshs. 23,670 and Kshs. 120,000 per month. However, in our view, a middle income household should have around Kshs 100,000 per month in disposable income.With the increase in economic growth, demand for appropriate housing comes to the forefront. In most towns, access to appropriate affordable housing has been, and remains, a mirage for the majo...

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Ease of doing business in Kenya

Aug 16, 2015

Ease of doing business is an aggregate ranking method for countries, based on indicator sets that measure and benchmark regulations applying to domestic SME businesses throughout their life cycle. The ranking is done by the World Bank, and tracks changes in the following 11 life cycle stages of a business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency and labour market regulation. The countries are then ranked from 1 to 189, 1 being the best. In the 2015 survey, Kenya was ranked 136 out of 189, a marginal improvement from 137 in 2014. This ranking is of use to (i) policy makers trying to improve their economy’s regulatory environment for business operations, with yearly changes in rankings providing some indications on the progress, and (ii) international investors, since it ranks countries relat...

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Employee ownership schemes and their effects on firms

Aug 9, 2015

Having recently introduced a share ownership plan for all Cytonn staff, we focus on the topic to demonstrate its importance to growing businesses in the country. At Cytonn, staff have both a grant of shares, at no cost, and a share purchase plan at a discounted rate. Employee ownership schemes are an attractive form of giving employees an opportunity to participate in the ownership and decision making of their company. An employee share ownership plan (ESOP) is an arrangement between an employer and an employee, whereby the employee is granted rights to own a defined number of shares in the company, usually at a discounted price and upon fulfillment of pre-set conditions. A company can implement ESOPs in a number of ways including; (i) issuing shares directly to its employees, (ii) allowing employees to buy into the shares of the company, often at a discount, and (iii) grant its employees an option to buy shares in the company at some future date. For any ESOP, there...

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