The last time the share traded was on July 27, 2017 when 100 shares exchanged hands. [Courtesy] It introduced itself to the public as the pioneer listed company with a focus on attracting Islamic investors into the capital markets.
On November 13, 2014, Kurwitu Ventures was listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) with its shares valued at Sh1,250 apiece.
The share gained by 20 per cent on the first day of trading to hit Sh1,500 per share, becoming the most expensive stock to ever trade on the Nairobi bourse.
But then the excitement died down. It is now a forgotten stock, almost impossible to remember when it had a buy or sell transaction.
The last time the share traded was on July 27, 2017 when 100 shares exchanged hands. It is oblivious to fundamentals or speculations. On the investment front, the company is dormant.
It is yet to carry out any of the promises it made seven years ago, and its income statement usually starts with operating expenses, not revenue.
Since 2014, the only major development was the 2019 announcement that the firm had received a 42-year lease for 100,000 acres of land along the Tana River. Even so, the company said it was going to start feasibility studies on the “best use of the land”.
It is yet to issue an update. The firm and its shares now epitomise all that could go wrong in the life of a firm. With no takers for Kurwitu’s stock, its valuation has remained at Sh153.41 million.
The name Kurwitu was borrowed from an ancient but now extinct settlement that existed in present-day Kilifi County towards the seaside of the villages of Shariani and Vipingo. And now the company, which was incorporated as a private limited liability company in September 2006, is fighting to avoid becoming extinct just like the settlement it was named after.
Since 2014, there has been entries and exits on the NSE, but Kurwitu hangs in there despite all evidence suggesting that it is a hawk in the company of eagles.
At the time of listing on NSE, former Mandera Central MP Abdikadir Mohamed was the chairman of the board that also had ex-National Bank of Kenya CEO Mohammed Hassan and ex-National Oil Kenya CEO Sumayya Hassan-Athmani as some of the directors.The majority shareholder, Abdirahman Abdillahi, with a 51 per cent stake in the company was the CEO.Mohammed Hassan had a 27 per cent stake, while Ali […]
