Mombasa-based Babla family sees stake in KCB surge by $3.7 million in 128 days

The shares in Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) held by Kenya-based multimillionaires Karsandas and Sandip Babla have risen by $3.7 million in 128 days.

The uptick in market value follows a rise in the company’s shares on the Nairobi Stock Exchange.

This triggered a market-value gain of $3.7 million (Ksh403.2 million) for the Babla family. They are substantial shareholders in the leading Kenyan commercial bank.

According to Reuters, as of the time of drafting this report at 3:06 pm, WAT, the company’s shares were trading at $0.40 (Ksh43.00) per share.

Its market capitalization stood at about $1.3 billion (Ksh137.0 billion).

Since Feb. 1, the company’s shares have risen from $0.33 (Ksh35.70) per share to $0.40 (Ksh43.00) per share at close of market today.

This translates to a 20.45-percent, or $0.07 (Ksh7.30) increase per share for KCB shares on the Nairobi Stock Exchange in 128 days.

KCB is Kenya’s largest bank and the second-largest bank in East Africa.

The company was recently restructured as a holding, KCB Group, which operates through subsidiaries in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia and South Sudan. The move was made to enhance access to available capital and enable investments in new ventures beyond the scope of banking regulations.

In 2020, KCB declared a profit of about $181.6 million (Ksh19.6 billion), while its assets expanded to $9.2 billion (Ksh987.8 billion) during the year under review from $8.3 billion (Ksh898.6 billion) in 2019.

The Mombasa-based Babla family holds a major stake in the holding and has seen its value rise by 21 percent in recent times.

Their joint 55,236,600 shares have risen from $18.3 million (Ksh1.97 billion) on Feb. 1 to $22 million (Ksh2.37 billion) at close of market today.

This translates to a market-value gain of $3.7 million (Ksh403.2 million) for the Babla family in 128 days.