James Anyanzwa
25 April 2008
Nairobi — Central depository system (CDS) accounts opened by investors rose by 74 per cent to 1.5 million in just four months.
According to figures released by the Central Depository System Corporation (CDSC) after the closure of Safaricom's initial public offering (IPO) on Wednesday, accounts had climbed to 1,463,213 from 840,000 in December last year.
Ms Rose Mambo, the CDSC chief executive told The Standard on Thursday.
A CDS account is an electronic repository that holds stocks for investors.
Some 1,016,000 accounts were opened in the first week of this month as new investors rallied to beat the deadline for the Safaricom IPO.
The Government is selling a 25 per cent stake in the mobile phone operator, the region's most profitable firm, and expects proceeds of at least Sh50 billion ($812 million).
At a price of Sh5 each for 10 billion shares, the firm's minimum market value will hit Sh204.6 billion ($3.3 billion).
Foreign investors will pay a slight premium for the company in which Britain's Vodafone holds a 40 per cent stake.
Safaricom's closest competitor in Kenya has until now been Celtel but France Telecom, which owns 51 per cent of Telkom Kenya, and Johannesburg-based Econet Wireless International both have licences to roll out mobile networks.
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