The Social Security Fund for Rwanda (SSFR) has received Ksh9m (Rwf67.2m) in dividends from Safaricom as part of the returns on its equity investment into Kenya’s largest telecom operator.

Safaricom in which SSFR invested some $7.6 m (Rwf4.3b) during its Initial Public Offering (IPO) posted Rwf50.1b profit after tax for the month ending September 2009, a 6.7 percent increase compared to the previous year.

Afrique Ramba, SSFR’s Director of Investments and Special Projects attributed the gains to Safaricom’s share appreciation on the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE).

"A share at the NSE was selling at Kes5.7 (Rwf42.5) last week and this week it is selling at Kes6.00 (Rwf44.8), making Safaricom one of the most profitable company in Kenya,” he explained.

Ramba reassured that SSFR’s investment in Safaricom was an excellent decision.

Last year, Safaricom faced economic difficulties as a result of Kenya’s post election violence which led to a decline in its share prices.

Ramba also explained that there was a fluctuation of shares last year, something that was caused by short-term investors who wanted to pay off their bank loans. He said this is a very normal trend.

Officials at the telecom company credited the results to the roll out of innovative products and increased infrastructure investments which during the period stood at Sh8.5 billion (Rwf64.2 billion).

They also revealed to investors that they were now positioning themselves to be a big data operator and expect the segment to contribute about 25 percent of their revenues in the three years.

The telecom giant owns 19.5 percent capacity in The East African Marine System (TEAMS) cable which was commercially launched last year and already operating.

Last year, SSFR managed to make a record collection of contributions from the initial planned Rwf11.5 billion to Rwf11.9 billion registering a 103.9 percent actual collection.
In a period of 11 months, from January to November, the national pension body’s cumulative contributions reached Rwf23.6 billion.

Ends