A tea farm./FILE
Tea farmers across the country are waiting
with bated breath for the announcement of annual bonuses during a meeting of the
directors of Kenya Tea Development Agency slated for September 22-26.
This anticipation triggered a surge in share prices for listed tea firms at the Nairobi Securities Exchange on Friday, with four firms, Limuru Tea, Kapchorua Tea, Kakuzi and Eaagads commanding the top five gainers list.
Data from the NSE shows that Limuru Tea’s share price rose by 9.92 per cent at the end of the week to Sh340.75, while that of Kazuzi came second at Sh424.75, having gained 7.4 per cent. Eaagads and Kapchorua tied, gaining 4.9 per cent to close the market at Sh20 and Sh327 respectively.
Major Kenyan tea firms and their affiliated farmers have been reaping big, particularly due to rising sales at the Mombasa Tea Auction and increased global demand for Kenyan tea, with exports reaching a record 96 countries in 2024.
During the week, financial institutions and real estate companies took a hit from ongoing interest rate and policy adjustments, dominating the least gainers list.
On Thursday, the banking regulator asked lenders to pass lowered rates to their customers or risk tougher penalties. In August, the apex bank reduced its benchmark Central Bank Rate to 9.5 per cent to encourage lower lending rates and stimulate private sector credit growth.
Real estate and insurance firms on other hand are under intense scrutiny in the government’s push to deal with increased illicit financial flows that have seen the country grey listed.
Property development company Home Afrika saw its share price sink by 9.7 per cent om Friday, followed by CIC and Absa Bank Kenya at 8.2 and 6.6 per cent.
Sanlam closed the top five losers list, having shed close to four per cent as investors gear up for an extraordinary general meeting slated for October 9. The listed insurer will be seeking shareholder approval to change its name to Sanlam Allianz Holdings (Kenya) Plc.
The proposed rebrand follows Jubilee Holdings’ exit from general insurance after it sold its remaining 34 per cent stakes in Jubilee Allianz subsidiaries in Kenya, Uganda, and Mauritius, along with 19 peer cent in Burundi and 15 per cent in Tanzania, to SanlamAllianz Africa.
Generally, the Nairobi bourse recorded low activities during the week under review, with the NASI, NSE 25 and NSE 20 share price indices decreasing by 2.13 per cent, 1.86 per cent and 2.76 per cent, respectively.
Market capitalisation and total shares traded decreased by 2.13 percent and 38.26 per cent, respectively, while Equity turnover increased by a marginally 2.1 per cent.
The treasury bill auction of September 18 received bids worth Sh23 billion against an advertised amount of Sh24 billion, representing a performance of 95.7 per cent. Interest rate on the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day Treasury bills declined.
Even so, the reopened 20-year and 25-year Treasury bonds received bids totaling Sh97.3 billion against an advertised amount of Sh40 billion, representing a performance of 243.2 per cent.
