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N.S.E Share Price

...NSE SHARE Index: 4264.66

UP by 3.08 points | Kakuzi Ord.5.00 77.00 -3.00

| Rea Vipingo Plantations Ltd Ord 5.00 16.45 0.00 | Sasini Ltd Ord 1.00 11.55 0.00 | AccessKenya Group Ltd Ord. 1.00 10.00 0.00 | Car & General (K) Ltd Ord 5.00 49.50 DNT | CMC Holdings Ltd Ord 0.50 10.40 -0.10 | Hutchings Biemer Ltd Ord 5.00 20.25 DNT | Kenya Airways Ltd Ord 5.00 39.50 0.00 | Marshalls (E.A.) Ltd Ord 5.00 14.20 DNT | Nation Media Group Ord. 2.50 173.00 -1.00 | Safaricom Ltd Ord 0.05 4.20 0.05 | Scangroup Ltd Ord 1.00 60.00 -0.50 | Standard Group Ltd Ord 5.00 39.50 DNT | TPS Eastern Africa (Serena) Ltd Ord 1.00 66.50 0.00 | Uchumi Supermarket Ltd Ord 5.00 14.50 DNT | Barclays Bank Ltd Ord 2.00 69.50 0.50 | Centum Investment Co Ltd Ord 0.50 22.25 0.25 | CFC Stanbic Holdings Ltd ord.5.00 79.00 0.00 | Diamond Trust Bank Kenya Ltd Ord 4.00 146.00 -1.00 | Equity Bank Ltd Ord 0.50 28.75 0.25 | Housing Finance Co Ltd Ord 5.00 28.00 0.75 | Jubilee Holdings Ltd Ord 5.00 187.00 1.00 | Kenya Commercial Bank Ltd Ord 1.00 23.25 0.25 | Kenya Re-Insurance Corporation Ltd Ord 2.50 10.60 -0.10 | National Bank of Kenya Ltd Ord 5.00 47.00 0.50 | NIC Bank Ltd 0rd 5.00 52.00 0.50 | Olympia Capital Holdings ltd Ord 5.00 5.00 0.05 | Pan Africa Insurance Holdings Ltd 0rd 5.00 76.00 -3.50 | Standard Chartered Bank Ltd Ord 5.00 275.00 3.00 | The Co-operative Bank of Kenya Ltd Ord 1.00 20.25 0.25 | Athi River Mining Ord 5.00 180.00 -1.00 | B.O.C Kenya Ltd Ord 5.00 150.00 DNT | Bamburi Cement Ltd Ord 5.00 197.00 0.00 | British American Tobacco Kenya Ltd Ord 10.00 280.00 6.00 | Carbacid Investments Ltd Ord 5.00 145.00 -1.00 | Crown Berger Ltd 0rd 5.00 32.50 -1.50 | E.A.Cables Ltd Ord 0.50 19.15 -0.40 | E.A.Portland Cement Ltd Ord 5.00 100.00 -3.00 | East African Breweries Ltd Ord 2.00 181.00 1.00 | Eveready East Africa Ltd Ord.1.00 2.55 0.00 | KenGen Ltd Ord. 2.50 15.50 -0.05 | KenolKobil Ltd Ord 0.05 9.40 -0.10 | Kenya Power & Lighting Co Ltd Ord 2.50 22.50 0.50 | Mumias Sugar Co. Ltd Ord 2.00 8.10 -0.30 | Sameer Africa Ltd Ord 5.00 6.15 -0.05 | Total Kenya Ltd Ord 5.00 28.00 0.25 | Unga Group Ltd Ord 5.00 10.35 -0.10 | City Trust Ltd Ord 5.00 186.00 DNT | Eaagads Ltd Ord 1.25 50.00 -4.50 | Express Ltd Ord 5.00 7.50 -0.20 | Williamson Tea Kenya Ltd Ord 5.00 200.00 0.00 | Kapchorua Tea Co. Ltd Ord Ord 5.00 125.00 DNT | Kenya Orchards Ltd Ord 5.00 3.00 DNT | Limuru Tea Co. Ltd Ord 20.00 305.00 DNT | Kakuzi Ord.5.00 77.00 -3.00 | Rea Vipingo Plantations Ltd Ord 5.00 16.45 0.00 | Sasini Ltd Ord 1.00 11.55 0.00 | AccessKenya Group Ltd Ord. 1.00 10.00 0.00 | Car & General (K) Ltd Ord 5.00 49.50 DNT | CMC Holdings Ltd Ord 0.50 10.40 -0.10 | Hutchings Biemer Ltd Ord 5.00 20.25 DNT | Kenya Airways Ltd Ord 5.00 39.50 0.00 | Marshalls (E.A.) Ltd Ord 5.00 14.20 DNT | Nation Media Group Ord. 2.50 173.00 -1.00 | Safaricom Ltd Ord 0.05 4.20 0.05 | Scangroup Ltd Ord 1.00 60.00 -0.50 | Standard Group Ltd Ord 5.00 39.50 DNT | TPS Eastern Africa (Serena) Ltd Ord 1.00 66.50 0.00 | Uchumi Supermarket Ltd Ord 5.00 14.50 DNT | Barclays Bank Ltd Ord 2.00 69.50 0.50 | Centum Investment Co Ltd Ord 0.50 22.25 0.25 | CFC Stanbic Holdings Ltd ord.5.00 79.00 0.00 | Diamond Trust Bank Kenya Ltd Ord 4.00 146.00 -1.00 | Equity Bank Ltd Ord 0.50 28.75 0.25 | Housing Finance Co Ltd Ord 5.00 28.00 0.75 | Jubilee Holdings Ltd Ord 5.00 187.00 1.00 | Kenya Commercial Bank Ltd Ord 1.00 23.25 0.25 | Kenya Re-Insurance Corporation Ltd Ord 2.50 10.60 -0.10 | National Bank of Kenya Ltd Ord 5.00 47.00 0.50 | NIC Bank Ltd 0rd 5.00 52.00 0.50 | Olympia Capital Holdings ltd Ord 5.00 5.00 0.05 | Pan Africa Insurance Holdings Ltd 0rd 5.00 76.00 -3.50 | Standard Chartered Bank Ltd Ord 5.00 275.00 3.00 | The Co-operative Bank of Kenya Ltd Ord 1.00 20.25 0.25 | Athi River Mining Ord 5.00 180.00 -1.00 | B.O.C Kenya Ltd Ord 5.00 150.00 DNT | Bamburi Cement Ltd Ord 5.00 197.00 0.00 | British American Tobacco Kenya Ltd Ord 10.00 280.00 6.00 | Carbacid Investments Ltd Ord 5.00 145.00 -1.00 | Crown Berger Ltd 0rd 5.00 32.50 -1.50 | E.A.Cables Ltd Ord 0.50 19.15 -0.40 | E.A.Portland Cement Ltd Ord 5.00 100.00 -3.00 | East African Breweries Ltd Ord 2.00 181.00 1.00 | Eveready East Africa Ltd Ord.1.00 2.55 0.00 | KenGen Ltd Ord. 2.50 15.50 -0.05 | KenolKobil Ltd Ord 0.05 9.40 -0.10 | Kenya Power & Lighting Co Ltd Ord 2.50 22.50 0.50 | Mumias Sugar Co. Ltd Ord 2.00 8.10 -0.30 | Sameer Africa Ltd Ord 5.00 6.15 -0.05 | Total Kenya Ltd Ord 5.00 28.00 0.25 | Unga Group Ltd Ord 5.00 10.35 -0.10 | City Trust Ltd Ord 5.00 186.00 DNT | Eaagads Ltd Ord 1.25 50.00 -4.50 | Express Ltd Ord 5.00 7.50 -0.20 | Williamson Tea Kenya Ltd Ord 5.00 200.00 0.00 | Kapchorua Tea Co. Ltd Ord Ord 5.00 125.00 DNT | Kenya Orchards Ltd Ord 5.00 3.00 DNT | Limuru Tea Co. Ltd Ord 20.00 305.00 DNT

Kenya: CEO Transition at Telkom Kenya

Saturday, 04 July 2009

Zain Kenya have done it, Essar have done it, and now Telkom Kenya are doing it, too: exchanging their CEO.

It was an emphatically cordial transition when outgoing Telkom Kenya CEO Dominique Saint Jean handed over to his successor Mickael Ghossein in a press event on Friday, 26 June 2009. Saint Jean had been the CEO for a year and a half, launching the Orange brand after France Telecom’s acquisition of 51% in Telkom Kenya.

Turning Telkom Kenya from a bloated, wasteful parastatal to a competitive telecommunications firm is necessarily a difficult process. As the third entrant into the market, Orange have been spending heavily, leaving a visual footprint on billboards and other outdoor advertising space already covered densely by its competitors. In addition, the company has shot elaborate commercials and sponsored pageants, competitions, sports, and concerts.

All of which costs money, as did the turnaround of Telkom Kenya. On top of that, Orange, alongside its competitors Zain and Essar, have tried to draw the ever dominant Safaricom into a price war. Zain have recently quietly abandoned their cross-network Vuka tariff of KES8 per minute, but Orange have introduced the similar Niaje tariff Kenya: Press Releases: Orange Mobile Call Rates Drop by Over 40% on New Niaje Tariff : KES8 per minute across networks, and KES4 for Orange to Orange calls. This tariff and other price-focused promotions mean that Orange is not earning much on voice services.

Alongside a legal dispute over pensions payments and disagreements with Orange dealers, Saint Jean has handed Ghossein two key tasks:

The low-price strategy has to yield market share: Telkom Kenyaclaim that they are approaching 2m customers, and are aiming to nudge the market’s number two, Zain, into the third position.
Telkom Kenya need to make money elsewhere: The company’s advantage is its integrated services offer, part of which it inherited from Telkom Kenya. In addition, the company has launched business-focused services and is investing in data services.

Perspectives: Ready to Fight for Second Prize?

Safaricom, in the meantime, remain calm and collected. Ghossein may have stated his ambition to take Telkom Kenya to market leadership in broadband, but at the moment, Safaricom retain their overall dominance in the market, and are aggressively pursing an expansion of their data business. With MPESA, they have an additional advantage over Orange – Ghossein was extremely vague on the launch date for Orange Money, a rival service. It is highly unlikely that Orange will be able to dislocate Safaricom, incidentally the only company that has not had any significant management changes. And despite a new funding agreement, Essar have been very quiet, and are disadvantaged by the fact that they were the fourth and last entrant into the market.

The battle will therefore be between Zain and Orange to become number two in the market. If allegations that Zain Group are negotiating to sell their Africa operations turn out to be true Ratio Blog: Africa Agenda: RIP Celtel, Belatedly., then Telkom Kenya stand an even better chance to overtake Zain, as the latter would have to go through yet another internal realignment, and would have to rebrand yet again in a market where it already went from Kencell to Celtel and then to Zain.

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