The Akamai Global Money Page

Three things defined Kampala in 2006: traffic jams, potholes and floods. Heavy traffic and sustained rainfall in the last quarter of 2006 as well inaction from authorities have turned the roads in Kampala into a massive stretch of potholes. Just before Christmas 2006, the Minister of Works announced that the central government is taking over the maintenance of a number of roads in the city. The minister’s announcement is little comfort considering that the same ministry has been overseeing the repair of a section of road leading out of the city in Nateete. The Nateete road repair ‘has not been’ going on for the last 1 year. What the contractor, who was hired by the Ministry of Works, did was to scrape off the tarmac layer and make a bad situation worse. If Kampala is to successfully host the Common Wealth Head of Government Meeting in 2007 and the residents whose homes and businesses have suffered from the floods are to regain their livelihood, then a miracle is needed to put the roads

The Money Page: Stanbic Bank Uganda IPO November 24th to December 22nd 2006 : "http://www.stanbicbankipo.com/downloads.html"

Stanbic Bank (U) Ltd opened the initial public offer (IPO) to sell 20% of its shares to the public on Friday 24th November 2006. The IPO will be close on December 22nd 2006 and shares are expected to begin trading on the Uganda Securities Exchange about January 25th 2007. The IPO share price has been set at Shs 70 and the Bank hopes to raise Shs 70b from the IPO. Stanbic Bank has been the most profitable bank in Uganda in the recent past. The bank has also successfully managed the integration of its business with the former Uganda Commercial Bank Ltd (UCBL) which it acquired during a re-privatization process. To down load the IPO prospectus and application form please click here http://www.stanbicbankipo.com/downloads.html If you need to talk to a broker then mail peterm@renaissance.co.ug or info@mbea.net

Akamai Uganda in Association with Renaissance Capital presents a practical investment seminar on the topic ‘ Understanding Selling & Buying Shares’ During the seminar we will answer questions like:  How does one gain by buying or selling shares?  Why is it that when I buy shares now I will not have the same experience like those who bought Green Land shares in the 1990s?  How can investor take advantage of both falling and rising share prices?  And the BIG ONE – is it worthwhile to buy shares of STANBIC Bank and how little money is required to do so? Come and learn more about the exciting investment opportunities on the Uganda Securities Exchange. Date: Saturday 25th November 2006 Time: 8:00 am – 11:00 am Venue: Anisha Hall, Hotel Equatorial, Kampala Fee: U Shs 15,000 per person (including breakfast) To book and Pay Please contact James/Joy Room 6, UCIL Building UMA Showground Lugogo Tel. 0712472109/0751516118 Email: akamaiuganda@yahoo.com Blog: www.jhabola.blogspot.com Ak

The Uganda Securities Exchange is a relatively small and young market compared to say the Nairobi Stock Exchange. Inspite its small size and young age, the USE has distinguished itself by being among the top 3 performing exchanges in the whole of Africa for last three years. The good regulation and management of the USE, the fact that Uganda has no capital restrictions and the excellent performance of most listed companies make the USE an ideal investment destination for Ugandans resident inside and outside the country as well as international investors looking for emerging market investment opportunities. As 2006 comes to a close there is a lot of excitement about planned activities on the USE including: * A planned share split by Uganda Clays likely to be announced at the end of October 2006 * The initial public offering of Stanbic Bank Uganda Ltd, due in November/December 2006.

Our daughter, who is three years and something, recently learned the expression “I can’t” much to the annoyance of her mum. So if she wants something she will come to her mum and say “mummy, I can’t see it” or when she is supposed to take off her dress she will go like “mummy I can’t remove it.” I have been reflecting on the “I can’t” mentality and realized that it is common even among people much older than my daughter. As a matter of fact I have also engaged in the “I can’t” thinking many times and to my detriment. This is what is sometimes described as thinking inside the box. It means you accept the status quo and do not accept that there are other view points or methods different to what you know or have experienced. A story is told of a Russian businessman who approached a Swiss banker for a loan. The Russian walked into the bank and asked for a US$ 100 loan and offered his luxury Mercedes car as collateral. Recognizing that the collateral is too good the bank manager quickly app

In order to fulfill your ambitions and desires, you have to be successful with money. But life can be very frustrating when:you cannot tell where the money you earn is going; your salary is all spent before you even complete the second week of the new month; you are paying for advances and loans that have not made any tangible contribution to your life. I now have products that can help you get out of the mud. 1. Personal Money Management System You can now place an order for the Personal Expense Management System - a spreadsheet solution that I have developed to help you keep track of daily income and expenses. All you need is a few minutes to capture your daily transactions and finally get to know where your money is going. The system produces monthly income and expenditure statements and can also be used to prepare and track monthly personal budgets. 2. Counselling Sessions for Individuals or Couples You can also book for a one to one meeting to help clarify what are the most import

By James Abola Most cartoons are supposed to be interesting but I recently saw a really interesting one in a local newspaper. In the cartoon a sweating man was facing two other men who were smiling in a sly way from across the table. One of the smiling guys told the sweating fellow: “We know what you ate from various places. Remember we do not take bribes but you can join our party.” The lesson from the cartoon is that knowledge is power. The one who knows has control and the one who lacks knowledge also lacks control. Those who have ever ridden a bicycle will appreciate the importance of control. Riding a bicycle that is going down a steep slope without the means and ability to control it can be very unsettling, to say the least. One of the things to know about money is what is called the time value of money . Academics claim that the time value of money is the foundation for the subject of finance. The good news is that it is not just academic but there are many ways in which the tim

Stop gropping in the dark, get a light for your real estate efforts . It is a great thing to own or invest in real estate but how do you: • overcome the fear of buying property with problem titles • tell a good deal whether it is virgin land or already developed • raise sufficient money to buy or develop property • effectively service mortgages without resorting to selling of your property This and many more issues shall be handled at the Akamai Uganda real estate seminar on August 12, 2006 at the Grand Imperial Hotel Kampala . Time: 8 am - 11:00 am Fee: Shs 20,000 only Breakfast shall be provided. To book or register, please contact: James or Joy on +256712472109 or +256712516118, email: akamaiuganda@yahoo.com

By James Abola Ever wondered why most high school boys have rooms appearing like a scene in a disaster zone? At the door would probably be a pair of sneakers that were kicked off, as the owner of the room entered; a tennis racquet on a chair or table; and a collection of odd objects stuffed under the bed. The state of disorder that is exhibited in the high school boy’s room is an example of a fundamental natural law, that the natural state of things is actually chaos and not order. In the biblical account when God begun creating we are told that “the earth was at first a shapeless, chaotic mass.” What is natural could be in born or in bred. For instance habits are in bred, in other words they become second nature to us as a result of constant training and practice. Through observation as well as personal experience, I have found the natural law of chaos very applicable in matters of life. Without a creative input or force, many things in life will not have the beauty or order that we w

By James Abola It is said that love is blind but some wealthy people go into marriage with one eye open, to watch their money. A prenuptial agreement is usually signed before the knot is tied so that if, or when, the marriage comes to an end the person with more money escapes with enough to start all over again. In Uganda the excitement of elections has briefly pushed the domestic relations bill (DBR) into the back banner. A key issue in the DBR is control over assets between husbands and wives. Disagreements that lead to the dissolution of a marriage lie on the extreme end of the spectrum but even more stable relationships still suffer from money induced or related tensions. With the advent of laws requiring public officials to declare their assets, is it of any use for people intending to marry or those already married to institute an asset declaration policy, as well, so that all earnings first go through a joint account? How about the vexed question of budget control, who among the

By James Abola We often hear about offshore investment and mutual funds but what do they actually mean. The term offshore indicates something foreign or outside a domestic territory. Offshore investing or alternative investing is conducting financial business outside of the investor’s home country or home currency. Most offshore investments offer high returns, low or no taxes and a high level of confidentiality. Dictators and corrupt politicians in Africa have given a bad name to offshore investing for many Africans. Most people have heard stories of politicians who steal resources from their countries and go and deposit it in numbered Swiss Bank accounts. Both global and national developments in the financial sector have made it more difficult for the so called blood money to be stashed away by politicians. These same developments have opened opportunities for honest citizens to participate in offshore investment. One of the main offshore investment vehicles is the mutual fund. A mutu

By James Abola Studies have found that Ugandans are one of the most entrepreneurial people in the world going by the number of new businesses springing up every year. It is not possible however for everybody to be involved in business as means of growing or sustaining their wealth. Some people must find a passive means of investing. The passive investor provides money and does not have to report to office at 8 am and knock off at 5 pm in order to get a return. The favoured arena of the passive investor is the securities market, like the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE). The major items traded on the securities exchange or market are shares and bonds. Shares and stocks are the same, only that Americans prefer stocks while the British use shares. Shares represent units of ownership in a public company. In the case of Uganda examples of public companies include Uganda Clays, Bank of Baroda and BAT (Uganda). Shares are the most common ownership investment traded on the market. Bonds on the

By James Abola Retirement is that time when you should be enjoying more leisure time than stress time, if you continue working it could be as a part time consultant. You may even choose to volunteer for a worthwhile cause. This ideal picture of retirement is only possible if you have actually planned for retirement ahead of time. The prospect of a comfortable retirement is like the proverbial carrot dangling in front of us, encouraging us to keep going in hopes of a future reward. The only difference is that, unlike the carrot that is always just too far away to reach, a comfortable retirement is actually attainable. While this is encouraging, achieving your retirement goals will not happen automatically. As with most other things, the two key things that you need to do are to plan ahead and to follow through with your plan. Unfortunately, there is no retirement planning resource that will provide you with the self-discipline and self-motivation you need to achieve your retirement goal

By Michael Mawa Unconditional Love – the way to go! It is with utmost reluctance and somewhat heaviness that I am, finally, at the bidding of my good friend James, writing this piece about our impressions on the practical consequences of the northern war. There are two reasons for my reluctance: First of all, while the debate rages on what has and has not been done, that debate is largely doing very little if any, in practically improving the day to day lives of these precious Ugandans who do not want to spend an extra day in such despicable conditions. Secondly, there’s simply a feeling of resignation especially with the older generation whom we strongly believe could do a lot in extending tangible support and thus alleviate some of the pain; most especially those who wear the name tag of practicing Christians. Instead they seem to either be completely insensitive, unbothered or just unwilling to respond appropriately to the plight of these people, and prefer to carry on with business

By James Abola Our daughter is a few months past three years and has been inquisitive for most the past 2 years. Recently she has got round to asking where my daddy and mummy are. I reckon she always sees her Jjaja (her maternal grand mother) and wonders where the paternal grannies are. I have attempted to explain to her that daddy’s parents are no longer here but with little success. When I got a summon to go home for the traditional marriage of my cousin Miriam I jumped at it and that is how daughter and daddy ended up in Gulu for three days. When we were about to live Gulu for Kampala she came with ‘knowing’ smile and told me “daddy I have seen your mummy.” Now I have to dig deeper to explain that although her biological grandparents are departed from this world she still has many grand parents alive! During our stay in Gulu I observed three things: dust, darkness and dance. The dust You see, for long time, Gulu has been the defacto regional headquarters for Northern Uganda and that

The employment terrain in the last 20 or so years have been marked by changes like divestiture or privatisation (government pulling out of the business of managing businesses); retrenchment or downsizing and early retirement. Employers have also moved to consolidate pay so that instead of multiple allowances the employee gets a consolidated pay. Some stronger organisations still continue to provide health allowance, but usually in the form of health insurance. By taking up the insurance premium the employer gets a more definite cost for the health of its staff and passes the uncertainty on to the insurance provider. While employers have gradually (in some cases) drastically moved away from looking after the welfare of their staff, the employees have not been prepared for this change. It is becoming more common for organisations to employ independent contractors who are responsible for all insurance and tax obligations related to their contracts. The message being communicated by the ch

The Money Page: Welcome to James Abola's Money Blog <a href="http://jhabola.blogspot.com/2006/01/northern-uganda-nasty-legacy.html"

By James Abola Dear Friend In 1996 my employers transferred me from Gulu to Kampala. When I got to Kampala I joined a group of young people who met regularly to pray. Being fresh from Gulu I regularly brought the conflict in northern Uganda as a prayer item but it always met with lukewarm interest. I have thought long and hard about this matter and the only conclusion I can come to is that many people do not know the real picture of what has been going on in northern Uganda for the past 20 years. I have taken the liberty to share with you the little I know about the pain going on in Northern Uganda in the hope that it will encourage you to take positive action to lessen or better still overcome the plight of “those people.” Since Mr Olara Otunnu, the former UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Children opened the debate on a genocidal programme in northern Uganda, many people have jumped into the fray. Olara’s first volley was fired during the November 2004 Sydney Peace Pr

By James Abola It seems there is a conspiracy among many professions to lock other people out of their fields through the use of jargons and abbreviations. I once attended a meeting in the education sector where everybody was talking in abbreviations which made no sense to me as an outsider. Since I had been brought in as a consultant, I had to swallow my pride and request them to use proper words and not acronyms. The field of finance is not any better either with things like Repos, buy, sell, options having meanings that by pass non financial mortals. The trend in most economies now is for individuals to take personal charge of their investments including retirement planning. This makes it more vital to know what is meant when the ‘financial types’ get talking and selling to you products. I have come to learn over time that interest rate can mean many things and should not be taken at face value. When looking at interest rate many aspects need to be taken into account: what time peri

By James Abola Two men were asked to explain how the world came into being. One answered, the universe is a result of a major event termed the “big bang”, which made random matter to become organised as we see in nature and living things. No, interjected the second fellow, the big bang theory doesn’t add up, because if it were true then tell me where did the matter needed for the bang come from? He continued to assert “the universe is the work of a supreme and ever present being, who is responsible for its design and order.” When it comes to the issue of originating a business idea there is a remarkable parallel with the thinking about the origin of the universe. Some people believe that to come up with a good business requires a big bang. The emphasis is usually on promotion and marketing to get customers turned on to the products of the new business. Other people put their money on a creative approach to establishing a business. The essence of the creative approach is a business idea

By James Abola I am left with about ten years to become a parent with a teenage child. Given the speed at which the past three years have flown, I know ten years is not a very long period to learn the art (if it exists) of successful parenting. I have been learning from parents with older children what values they are passing on to their children so that they grow up to become responsible and successful in life. Most parents would be happy if their teenage children were performing well in school and do not get into trouble with the opposite sex. Parents emphasise the importance of education to their children, the message is if you do not get a good education you will not amount to anything in life. Privately many fathers (mothers are generally more accommodative) would not want their children to go out on a date unattended and place a dusk to dawn curfew during holidays. I am told that if I add to these a few other details like respect to elders and authorities; no tattoos; no outrageo

By James Abola Does having and implementing a personal financial plan mean going through life with a long face, while donning the proverbial tight belt? The thought of living within one’s means is not entirely palatable. At times it means choosing not engage in debt driven consumption in order to save for the future. One time after talking to a gentleman about developing a personal financial he invited me for lunch. My response that I could not have the lunch because I had carried my food from home did not rub him well. He turned to me and said “James people like you who carry chapatti from home for lunch are not good for economic growth, how do you expect people whose business is to sell lunch to prosper if their food is not bought?” I found his justification of free spending very interesting. I would love to conduct a survey to find if the many people who spend money as if their pockets or handbags have been hired by De La Rue are actually being that charitable to the economy. A lady

Hi Welcome to this blog. I am James Abola a financial consultant based in Kampala Uganda. This blog contains some of the thoughts and articles that I share to help people to grow their money and businesses. You can also read my articles in the Sunday Monitor on the Money Matters page - www.monitor.co.ug . If you need my services send me a line on jhabola@yahoo.com Have a great reading