Vanishing Subscribers for DSTV, Star Times

Hi 👋🏽 It's Brian from The Kenyan Wall Street

In today's newsletter, Kenya’s pay-TV industry looks far smaller than it did a year ago.

A new rule from the regulator counts only “active” subscriptions…meaning that households that have actually paid within the last 90 days. This metric has erased millions of dormant decoders from the books.

The official tally now stands at just 1.48 million, a collapse of nearly 77%, with GOtv, StarTimes, and DStv all showing steep declines.

Only Zuku, cushioned by its internet bundles, managed modest growth. The shake-up comes as mobile streaming platforms surge, riding on cheap data and the ubiquity of smartphones.

What once looked like a booming television market is being redrawn as a fight for screens and increasingly, the screen is in your pocket.

Fred Obura writes here >>>>>

Refilling the Borrowing Bowl : IMF in Nairobi

The IMF is back in Nairobi, with mission chief Haimanot Teferra leading two weeks of talks on a fresh bailout program.

Kenya, still staggering under debt payments that consume more than half its revenues, missed the final review of its previous US$3.9 billion facility earlier this year.

Officials now want a new deal to unlock balance-of-payments support and reassure wary lenders. Any agreement will hinge on tough measures such as raising taxes, cutting deficits, and pushing governance reforms.

Read more here »»»»»

Rewriting the Rules of Risk in NSE Derivatives Market

By Harry Njuguna

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has restructured its derivatives market, slashing contract sizes for all single stock futures.

Safaricom, KCB, Equity, and other major counters move from 1,000-share contracts to 100, while EABL, BAT Kenya, and Standard Chartered fall from 100 to 10. The shift reduces the cash outlay for retail traders and smaller institutions, without altering the risk-adjusted exposure per share.

Initial margins, recalibrated earlier in September, still apply, with levels for Safaricom starting at KSh 350 in December contracts. Those margins had been lifted only days before, in a review that responded to heightened volatility.

The exchange’s sequence of moves reveals a balance: tightening collateral requirements while cutting ticket sizes to broaden access. Officials are betting that the new structure will attract participants long deterred by high upfront costs.

The reforms take effect on October 1 and mark one of the most significant adjustments to the NEXT market since its 2019 launch.

Read full article here >>>>>

This Week On the Capital Markets 

Insight 

How to Buy Property in Kenya as a Foreigner or Diaspora Investor

By Lulu Kiritu

For many foreigners and Kenyans abroad, the dream of owning a piece of home begins with a title deed and a leap of faith. The country’s real estate market, swollen by new highways and rising skylines, offers apartments, townhouses, and gated communities in every shade of promise.

Yet the law keeps its guard up. Freehold land remains for citizens, while outsiders must settle for leaseholds that count down from ninety-nine years. Between the paperwork, the stamp duty, and the lurking specter of scams, the process demands patience, money, and a trustworthy lawyer.

Here is how you can navigate buying land as a foreigner…

NSE Gainers & Losers 

The NSE Investment Challenge is a fun, interactive, and educational platform designed to teach you how to invest on the Kenyan Stock market using a real-time trading simulation.

✅ Virtual capital to trade

✅ Live market data

✅ Learn real investing skills

✅ Open to students & young professionals

💰 Cash prizes for the top performers 

Click here to join this amazing opportunity 🎉

For up-to-date market insights and data from the NSE, join our Whatsapp channel here »»»»»

On Your Watchlist

Keep up with what’s happening on our X and LinkedIn pages. Stay updated with the latest financial news on our website The Kenyan Wall Street.