Shrewd Millionaire Finally Makes Public Show

Until last week it was hard to put a face on Paul Wanderi Ndung’u, a major shareholder in a number of listed companies. He ranks among the top 10 shareholders in Kenya Airways, Housing Finance, Olympia and has interests in other listed firms.

His shares in the three firms were valued at a total of Sh576 million by the close of last Friday’s trading session at the Nairobi Stock Exchange.

Yet Mr Ndung’u has stayed out of the public eye; no shareholder activism for him at the annual general meetings or an expressed interest to sit on any of the listed companies’ boards.

Instead, he has opted to focus on his investments which range from forex bureaus to mobile phone dealerships, construction equipment and investment firms.

Ulterior motive

When Mr Ndung’u pulled the rug from under Safaricom’s feet, moving his mobicom telecommunications dealership from Kenya’s leading phone services provider to Telkom Kenya’s stable, his cover was blown.

“People will wonder from which hole I have emerged, and others will read the move laced with an ulterior motive,” Mr Ndung’u said in an interview with the Sunday Nation at his Muthaiga office which also houses another of his investment vehicles, Top Peak Investments.

“Inevitably I had to come out in public.”

With 42 outlets countrywide, Mobicom is one of Kenya’s leading telecommunications firms providing retail and wholesale scratch cards, phones and other accessories.

Mobicom’s symbiotic relationship with Safaricom began in early 2000 as Mr Ndung’u grasped the opportunity presented by the emerging telecommunications industry.

I had travelled to a number of countries and realised the growth opportunities in the mobile phone industry,” he said, highlighting the cases of Egypt and Uganda which were well ahead of Kenya in mobile telephony at the turn of the century.

When the service opened in Kenya, Safaricom was able to penetrate most parts of the country with its services and products thereby increasing its subscriber base and earnings.

Mr Ndung’u says of his decision to divorce Safaricom and tie the knot with Telkom Kenya.

“Before one takes these strategic decisions, they have to consult widely . . . we have done our research and found there are more opportunities in Telkom Kenya compared to Safaricom.”

One of Telkom Kenya’s attraction is the wide product offering from fixed lines, the wireless and the Internet. The firm had courted him for six months, he said in closely guarded talks which only the CEO Mickael Ghossien was privy to.

“I was in direct contact with only one person in Kenya, and that was the head of Telkom Kenya,” Mr Ndung’u said.

He is particularly optimistic about Telkom Kenya being a force to reckon with when it comes to data, which he sees as the next growth frontier.

“My kids spend a lot more time on the laptop compared to watching TV,” he said. “This is where we are headed. Pretty soon everyone will spend more time on their computers or lap tops browsing the Internet.”

The fact that Telkom Kenya is still developing some of its services such as mobile money transfer gives him a first mover and growth opportunity.

He remains excited about the new tie-up with Telkom, talking about “very exciting offers which will hit the market starting tomorrow”.

Mr Ndungu’s first business venture was a forex bureau, Taipan Forex, an opportunity he came across while in Uganda in the early 1990s. He was then working as an accountant for Pioneer Assurance.

“I knew when Kenya was soon to liberalise its foreign exchange there would be a huge opportunity,” he said.

He went on to own two more bureaus, circumventing the Central Bank law that prohibited forex bureaus from opening branches.

Many analysts thus question whether he directly owns the shares under his name at the Nairobi Stock Exchange.

“Maybe he is a front for other people with wider interests,” said an analyst, who requested not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The analysts added that Mr Ndung’u has possibly borrowed to fund his investments in the stock market and might have been one of those who took a heavy knock following the fall in share prices.

But Mr Ndung’u is not willing to discuss his interests and activities in the stock market, stating instead that he focuses on the fundamentals of companies and reads up a lot on shares and the broader economy.

Source: Daily Nation