Business Daily (Nairobi)

Kenya: Safaricom Off to a Flying Start At the NSE

9 June 2008

Safaricom was off to a good start at the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE), with shares surging as much as 60 per cent on the first day of trading.

Safaricom shares started trading at Sh7.25, hitting a high of Sh8, and closing the day at Sh7.

Officiating the launch of trading at the NSE, President Mwai Kibaki said the IPO's success vindicated the divestiture.

"The response by Kenyan and international investors was overwhelming, making this IPO the most attractive offering in our history and possibly in the rest of Africa," Kibaki said.

The massively oversubscribed IPO signalled renewed investor confidence in Kenya, in the wake of the post-election crisis, which killed some 1,300 people and paralysed key sectors of the economy for over two months at the beginning of the year.

Safaricom commands over 80 per cent of Kenya's mobile market and has more than 10 million subscribers.

The government sold 10 billion shares, which now make up 40 percent of the Nairobi Stock Exchange.

- A Business Daily Reporter And Agencies

Tagged: Business, Company, East Africa, ICT, Investment, Kenya, Stock Markets

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