Kenya Re Increases Stake in Local Reinsurer

By Soko Directory Team / Published June 22, 2016 | 8:12 am

Equities

Kenya Re Increases Stake in Local Reinsurer

The Kenyan equities market closed on a mixed state as portended by the market indicators and the value of transactions. The benchmark indicator, the NSE 20 Share index appreciated by 0.21% to close at 3775.09 point from 3767.20 points the previous day. The NSE All Share index bucked the trend plummeting by 0.62% to close at 146.37 points whilst the NSE 25 Share Index followed suit, declining by 0.38% to close at 4117.78 points. Market Capitalization contracted marginally by 0.62% to close at KES 2,076.8 billion from KES 2,089.83 billion. Equity turnover on the other hand, increased significantly by 66.9% to close at KES 1.281 billion. Market breadth, indicated a decline, with the number of stocks that declined- 12 outweighing the number of stocks that advanced -19.

Kenya Reinsurance Corporation Limited (NSE: KNRE) has increased its stake in a local re-insurer, Zep-Re, to 19.88% from 15.44% as it seeks to up its dividend payment from the investment while consolidating itself as the single-largest shareholder. The deal worth KES 1.25 Billion will see an uptick in Kenya Re dividend from the firm from the KES 68.4 Million it received in 2015, which was a 21% jump from the KES 56.5 Million it got in 2014. Zep-Re is a local private re-insurer that has attracted foreign institutional investors as World Bank’s International Finance Corporation owing to its sturdy revenue stream, sustained growth and attractive dividend payout. It reported a 15.6% increase in net income of KES 1.9 Billion in 2015 with revenue of KES 3.4 Billion the same year.

Equity Market Highlights

Equity Group Ltd (NSE: EQTY) was the most actively traded stock today accounting for 43.37% of the total market value traded activity. KCB Group Ltd (NSE: EABL) also registered high levels of activity, accounting for 22.49% of the total market turnover. National Bank of Kenya Ltd (NSE: NBK) capped the gainers list, appreciating by 5.50% to close the day at KES 10.55. Kenol Kobil Ltd (NSE: KENO) went up by 2.91% to close the day as the second best performer at KES 10.60.

Carbacid Investments Ltd (NSE: CARB) emerged as the top loser of the day, plunging by 6.35% to close at KES 14.00. Longhorn Publishers Ltd (NSE: LKL) similarly lost ground by 3.57% to close at KES 5.40.

About Soko Directory Team

Soko Directory is a Financial and Markets digital portal that tracks brands, listed firms on the NSE, SMEs and trend setters in the markets eco-system.Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/SokoDirectory and on Twitter: twitter.com/SokoDirectory

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