Topicals



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Recent Topicals

Nairobi Metropolitan Area Residential Report 2025

May 18, 2025

In 2024, we published the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Residential Report 2024 themed ‘Untapped Investment Niches’. This week, we update our previous research with the Nairobi Metropolitan Area (NMA) Residential Report 2025 titled ‘Navigating Opportunities in a Resilient Market’ by highlighting the residential sector's performance in the region in terms of price appreciation, rental yields, and market uptake, based on the coverage of 35 regions within the Nairobi Metropolis. We shall also discuss factors influencing residential supply and demand, current developments affecting the industry, and conclude with a look at investment options as well as the sector's general outlook for the coming fiscal year. As such, we shall discuss the following; Overview of the Residential Sector,

Private Placements in Kenya

May 11, 2025

Private placements or non-public offerings are a method of raising capital by selling securities directly to a chosen or pre-determined number of investors rather than through a public offering. Private placements have emerged as a vital component of capital raising in Kenya’s financial markets, especially in an environment where traditional public offerings face stringent regulatory requirements, prolonged approval timelines, and market volatility. We chose to cover this topic to demystify a financial mechanism that remains under-discussed yet widely used by both private and public sector players. With the Kenyan economy in a state of recovery and transition, businesses and the government need flexible, accessible, and efficient ways of raising capital. Private placements are now gaining more traction among the government, medium-sized corporates and large institutions that require capital without the regulatory complexities and public scrutiny associated with public offering...

Unlocking Kenya’s Capital Markets

Apr 27, 2025

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) last recorded an Initial Public Offers (IPOs) in 2015, when Stanlib Investments issued an IPO of the first Real Estate Investment Trust (Fahari-IREIT) at the bourse, managing to raise Kshs 3.6 bn against the target of Kshs 12.5 bn, 28.8% success rate. This translates to an eight-year IPO drought, with the most recent activity at the bourse being the listing by introduction, meaning no money was raised) out of the Local Authority Pension Trust (LAPTRUST) Imara Income Real Estate Investment Trust (I-REIT) under the Restricted Sub-Segment in December 2022. LAPTRUST holds 100.0% of the Imara I-REIT shares with no initial offer to the public. Currently, the bourse has 66 listed securities with a total market capitalization of Kshs 2.0 tn as at 25th April 2025. The bourse continues to be Safaricom-dominated, with Safaricom’s market capitalization of Kshs 689.7 bn equivalent to 34.9% of the entire market capitalization. Additionally, S...

Kenya Listed Banks FY’2024 Report

Apr 20, 2025

Following the release of the FY’2024 results by Kenyan listed banks, the Cytonn Financial Services Research Team undertook an analysis on the financial performance of the listed banks and identified the key factors that shaped the performance of the sector. For the earnings notes of the various banks, click the links below: Equity Group FY’2024 Earnings Note KCB Group FY’2024 Earnings Note Standard Chartered Bank Kenya FY’2024 Earnings Note ABSA Bank Kenya FY’2024 Earnings Note

Kenya’s Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) FY’2024 Report

Apr 13, 2025

Following the release of the FY’2024 results by all four authorized Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) in Kenya, the Cytonn Real Estate Research Team undertook an analysis of the financial performance of the REITs and identified the key factors that shaped the performance of the sector. For the earnings notes of the various REITs, click the links below: ILAM Fahari I-REIT FY’2024 Earnings Note LapTrust Imara I-REIT FY’2024 Earnings Note Acorn I-REIT FY’2024 Earnings Note Acorn D-REIT FY’2...