Unashig Kenya PLC: Portfolio of Shares Held at the NSE (Nairobi Securities Exchange)

UPDATED: July 31, 2020

Unashig Kenya PLC is a public limited company. It was registered in Kenya in November 2018 under the  Companies Act. It is wholly-owned by such present and past academic staff of the University of Nairobi who resolved in 2017 to be both its Full Members and Shareholders, and to use it in the first instance as a vehicle for securing self-funded Group Health Insurance. Non-academic staff of the University as well as other investors within the country and elsewhere are free to join as Associate Members, and some have indeed joined. The Management of the University of Nairobi has no say in it. The Unashig Office is located in downtown Nairobi.

Each Full Member is entitled, and required, to own one and only one Class A (i.e. CA) share, which is also a voting share. All Members, whether Full or Associate, are required to own at least two CB shares, but can own as many of such shares as are consistent with their own investment goals and horizons. Each share (CA or CB) gives its owner an equal share of such dividends or other sorts of distribution (bonus shares, share splits and the like) as may be  approved at an AGM or SGM.

It has been Unashig Board's policy from the start to invest in selected stocks traded on the NSE the preponderant percentage of cash collected from purchases of Unashig shares by Members. 

The idea behind converting into NSE-quoted shares most of the funds generated from purchases of Unashig shares was to prevent such share purchases from being merely or significantly a source of funds for the company's day-to-day operations guided by the Board or the Management. This measure not only ensures the rapid growth of 'tangible' assets for the company and its shareholders, but is also a crucial to confidence-building among Unashig Members. 

While the market value of such conversions continues to grow, the amount of investment capital so far generated remains far below our collective ambitions and potential.  And yet there are already gains we can share and talk about. We give you at the link below the list of shares per counter currently held by Unashig on behalf on its shareholders:

READ: Unashig's Portfolio of Quoted Shares at End of July 2020 

In 2019, the net dividends earned by the company amounted to over KES 80,000/- (based on our more recent calculations), over and above the robust capital gains realized at year's end. While year 2020 may be more challenging, in view of Covid-19 and the related investor 'flight' witnessed by all of us, there are opportunities to be legitimately grabbed by savvy and patient investors precisely because of that -- as share prices dip and become, indeed, "low-hanging fruits". 

You may also have noticed, more specifically, that Safaricom has very recently declared a first-and-final dividend of KES 1.40 per share. We already own just over 25,000 shares (some bought as recently as July 30th) in that iconic company -- as the CDSC Statement to be issued at the end of this August will show! We should collectively own at least 100,001 shares in Safaricom, in the near future. Both NCBA and NMG have declared a bonus of 1 for every 10 shares held.  Several companies in which Unashig hold shares have also made dividend announcements. One stand-put here is WPP Scangroup's special dividend of KES 8.00 per share, which will be paid of August 27, 2020. Later this year, Williamson Tea PLC will send us a cheque of over KES 20,000/- based on a KES 20/- per share dividend.

In the context of all this, it is the Board's hope that Members will see the value of procuring more CB shares for the collective good. Let's have a conversation. We need to grow Unashig!