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Kenyan banker and business executive James Mwangi has scored a paper gain of $7.9 million in recent weeks after a strong rise in the shares of Equity Group, East Africa’s leading financial services group. This reflects renewed investor interest in banking stocks as confidence returns.
Mwangi owns 127.8 million shares, equivalent to a 3.39 percent stake in the Nairobi-based financial services giant. Over the past 11 weeks, his stake has climbed by roughly Ksh1 billion, or $7.9 million. This adds to the previous gains recorded earlier this year.
Regional growth underpins investor confidence
Equity Group is the largest banking group in East and Central Africa, with operations that now span Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Over the years, the lender has grown from a small microfinance outfit into a regional bank serving millions of customers, many of them previously outside the formal banking system.
That long expansion effort continues to shape investor views of the company. Market watchers say the group’s broad footprint and focus on retail and small-business banking have helped it absorb shocks that have rattled smaller rivals.
Share rally lifts market value
Its shares have gained 14.81 percent over the past 11 weeks, rising from Ksh54 ($0.42) on Sept. 17 to Ksh62 ($0.48), thus propelling the group’s market capitalization above $1.8 billion and delivering solid returns to long-term investors like James Mwangi.
The latest jump lifted the market value of Mwangi’s equity stake from about Ksh6.9 billion ($53.35 million) in September to Ksh7.92 billion ($61.25 million) at the time of drafting this report, thus reinforcing his position at the top of Kenya’s banking wealth ladder.
Shares in the lender are up 28.36 percent so far this year. A $100,000 investment in the bank’s shares at the start of the year would now be worth $128,360, thus reflecting growing investor confidence in the bank’s earnings amid ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty.
