NSE Website woes continue...

Njuguna of Atlanta, Georgia sent this letter to the EA Standard on 6 Dec 2006.

Mwebesa of the NSE commented on 14 Dec 2006 but IMHO never addressed the real issue but obfuscated it by attacking Njuguna.

As usual, my comments in RED.

NSE is a disappointment to investors in, out of Kenya

Note that the EA Standard can edit your subject header. Njuguna has little control over the letter's heading.
The Nairobi Stock Exchange’s website is a disappointment yet again. I am an avid investor in the US, and have been doing research on the stock market. I thought the best place to get the NSE’s daily progress was its website.
But anyone who frequents it can testify to its lack of innovation, information and creativity. The home page is poor in graphics, the picture’s resolution poor and most of the information is outdated.

Monday was December 4, but the daily market report was for November 30. The annual report on the website is 2004’s! Is it believable that last year’s information is not available?

How can the NSE have any moral fibre for insisting listed firms publish Financial Statements in a timely manner if the NSE does not do so? Even if the NSE is not a "public" company there is a duty of care (fiduciary responsiblity). Is the NSE insolvent?

The NSE Daily Price List for November 30, a Thursday, was not updated until the close of business on Monday. Does the NSE take a five-day weekend?

mwebesa... we are waiting???

Are investors supposed to wait until it is convenient for NSE to post the price list?

Waiting???

The NSE Handbook is available, but can’t there be online purchase? The last update of current events was in May, last year!

Still waiting???

How can the NSE and the economy grow if the nation’s only stock exchange fails investors?

mwebesa NEVER addressed any of the issues in his letter but sought to "blame" Njuguna for his letter!

I thought automation of the trading system would boost the stock exchange. This was not to be. The NSE, under the stewardship of respected professionals, including the chairman Mr Jimnah Mbaru, should update its information technology.

Hoseah Njuguna,
Atlanta, Georgia

NEXT: chris mwebesa's non-answer on 14 Dec 2006

Letter not a true picture of the NSE

A letter to the editor in The Standard on December 6 was misleading.
Huh? There is nothing misleading in the letter!

The headline, ‘NSE is a disappointment to investors in, out of Kenya’, implied that the bourse is a disappointment to all yet the letter from Mr Hosea Njuguna of Atlanta, US, was a comment on the Nairobi Stock Exchange’s website.
There were multiple issues addressed. There were questions not just a "comment". Addrress the "headline" to EA Standard.

However, we are the first to admit that technical problems with our website have frustrated the public. We commissioned a new website and it will be handed to the NSE tomorrow.
What does "first to admit" mean to them?
The lousy website has not been "upgraded" for years. What were they doing for the past few years. mwebesa has been CEO for a while!
As of 22 Dec 2006, the same old lousy website is available! Of course, I expect nothing until 2007.
What is the point of "reaching out" to the Diaspora if they can't get the relevant information?

Chris Mwebesa,NSE chief executive

More despairing stories from Land of the Kleptos

WTF???

Why should dan moi get a free pass?

dan moi screwed Kenyan left, right & centre - including Nairobi with his moinomics.
moinomics = rape & pillage the country then "retire" with a huge pension, new cars, office & house.

To add insult to injury, the idiots in the Nairobi City Council that has a deficit of KES 23 Billion (US$300 Million) happily spends scarce money - with plans to raise parking fees - on useless awards to useless folk like dan moi!

Nepostism & the downfall of Nairobi started with margaret kenyatta... so they give her freebies as well! Then the "councillors" will award themselves & their cronies more freebies!

As is margaret's father (klepto wa ngengi) looted enough to his grandkids' grandkids. Surely, she does not need the "free" benefits! Whole chunks of Central, Thika & Coast "belong" to the kenyatta family!

Anyway, why am I, a tax & rate payer, being treated as a 2nd class citizen?


KENYA NEEDS TO BE PRIVATISED TO STOP THESE THIEVES TREATING IT LIKE THEIR F*****G PROPERTY!

Discount Airlines - Not all is roses

Does this fate await passengers of the "new" airlines in Kenya?

The emergence of airlines like Fly54o has brought a new level of competition within Kenya but as seen in the past the competition can be tough especially after the honeymoon period.

East African Safari Air, which collapsed in 2005, left hundreds of passengers stranded in London & Nairobi.

Other collapsed airlines in East Africa include:

Air Tanzania (State-owned)
Uganda Airlines (State-owned)
Alliance One

A. Baumann Price Spikes - Is it for real?

A. Baumann price spiked 241% on 20 Dec 2006 on the NSE.
Follow the link for more...

Investing In Africa

This seems reminiscent of the price of City Trust spiking 350%, on the announcement of a KES 3.10 dividend, to 500/-. The price has since fallen to 86/-

Please let me know if there is a substantial announcement on ABCO.

Sasini announces a Bonus & Split

Sasini Ramblings from an earlier post.

Something was definitely in the works... IMHO some people were in the know thus the rapid fire increase in the stock price...

Anyway, so there was a 1:5 Bonus followed by a 5:1 Split thus 1 "old" share = 6 "new" shares.

More Info on InvestingInAfrica

Olympia Capital Expands Its Portfolio

You need to click on the link below to get to the post.

Please note that for the pan-African Readers - OCC is listed in Botswana & OCH listed in Kenya.

The price of OCHL has been fluctuating substantially (15-40) since the initial acquisition announcement.

Olympia Capital

Co-authoring blogs

Dear Readers & fellow Bloggers,

I will not be able to keep up with blogging regularly going forward but I still want to do so in a limited fashion.

I have been inspired by a stable of blogs that are a must read for me & these include:

• Bankelele - why I started blogging
• kenyanentrepreneur - interesting & varied topics
• kumekucha - better than any thriller out there!
• ThinkersRoom - Satire never sounded so good
• Mzalendo - A must read for Kenyans
• Odegle - I like his takes on the Nairobi lifestyle
• KikuyuMoja - Simplicity among Complexity
• Nairobist - An all-purpose website & blog on Nairobi
  

Nevertheless, there is one blog that had caught my (investing) eye & I RAVED about it in an earlier blog entry... Investing In Africa. It is an offshoot of a website that promotes an Investing In Africa newsletter.

Ryan (the blog's owner) has kindly allowed me to post on his blog. Not being "tech-savvy" & with limited decent internet service in the near future, I shall send him my entries on an ocassional basis which he will (hopefully) post...

I will try to link my contributions to this blog... I think it is called a "Trackback"...

Ryan's blog focuses on Africa, unlike my Kenya-centric focus, thus I think it will broaden the horizons for investors.

In addition, I am passionate about politics & tend to mix the economics with politics thus I will try & limit my contributions to Investing In Africa to economic & financial discussions.

Thanks & keep on blogging!

Kibz gets undeserved raise!

Kibz - Kenya - GDP $12.65 Billion - Base Salary: KES 24 Million = $342,857 - GDP Per Capita (PPP) $1,200

So Kibz base salary is 286x the Per Capita GDP for Kenyans!

Bush - USA - GDP $12,470 Billion - Base Salary: KES 28 Million = $400,000 - GDP Per Capita (PPP) $42,000

Bush' base salary is 9.5x the Per Capita GDP for Americans!

So Kibz will make 86% of what the US Prez makes but the USA Prez presides over an economy that is 76600% larger than Kenya's!

Kenya's GDP is LESS than 1% of the USA's GDP... which means a 1% economic growth in the USA = entire amount of the Kenya's GDP...

WTF????

PPP Link
GDP Link
US President Salary Link
Kenya President Salary Link

Of course, the MPs will now want their salaries increased...

Land Grab in Progress

STOP the Land Grab... by the "authorities" for a "favoured project" from land belonging to Lenana School...

Additional News Item on the Land Grab

My comments in RED

Board had agreed to give land, says Mugo Well, the new Board has reviewed the decision... which is NO... Lenana Students on the Board have made the difference Story by NATION Reporter (Publication Date: 12/6/2006)

Lenana High School board had consented to give 40 acres for the construction of an education centre, Dagoretti MP Beth Mugo said yesterday. That is 20% of the total land! Leave the school alone! Alternatively, rent the land from Lenana School but do not "grab" it! However, the new board officials turned down the request, Mrs Mugo said. Good for them... The request for land was first made on April 29, last year, when President Kibaki led a tree planting exercise at neighbouring Ngong Forest. So what? Why doesn't the kenyatta family (mugo is a member) return the STOLEN land they have acquired! The assistant minister for Education was responding to reports that the school's management had declined to set aside part of the land for the centre. Letter to chairman In a letter to the board's chairman, Mr Edward Kigen, Mrs Mugo said it was imperative the decision was reversed. Nothing is imperative. The board should hold firm! In fact the Old Boys association, among others, should gear up for a lawsuit before the land is "forcibly" excised! The assistant minister said she was surprised the board decided to deal with the Press "while no dispute exists". Bullshit... there is a dispute. The Press was a choice the Lenana Board had to make since theie pleas would have gone unheeded. She added that although Lenana was a national institution, few students from the area were admitted there. Is she an IDIOT? Precisely, because it is a National Instition that it admits from all over the country & can't favour the "locals". Does Alliance favour those from Kikuyu? It was not "courteous to go against a noble project such as the education centre because there is a lot of land available," the MP said. Why doesn't the government repossess GRABBED land? This land belongs to Lenana prior to independence when the Duke of York school was established. The school has about 200 acres. Mr Kigen had said all the land was being utilised and the board planned to build rental houses to generate income. The land is not for sale! Period. Some Lenana School related websites McCrow Old Yorkist

Mumias - Prospectus?

Does Mumias have a Prospectus for the current Offer For Sale available in an electronic format?

Does Mumias have a website?

Kenya beats India in smallholder Tea Investments!

Officials from Assam (a state in India where Tea Growing is big business) wants to "copy" the ideas & innovations of the KTDA & smallholders in Kenya.

KTDA should be extremely circumspect since India - the world's largest tea producer - is aggressively pursuing Kenya's traditional export markets e.g. Pakistan.

Furthermore, the Indians have started buying out "Brand Names" e.g. Tata Tea - listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange - bought Tetley's in the UK... this gives them a leg up since there is more money in the value-added side of the business.

China & Vietnam are also gearing up Tea production. When Vietnam started producing Robusta coffee, they became a huge producer within a short time frame. China has become the #3 exporter of tea & could exceed Kenyan exports by 2010. It scares me to think Kenya will start importing Chinese tea in a few years!

Kenya needs add value to the "raw" tea by investing the Tea Industry. This is not easy but there has to be a concerted effort spearheaded by the government but ultimately run by the private sector.

KTDA factories are farmer/shareholder owned & if these "shares" were floated I feel financing costs would drop enabling factory upgrades & best practices.

Don't let the Indians (Vietnamese or Chinese) take away this hard-earned advantage!