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Kenya’s Sasini seeks $1.4m to boost investment in coffee sector
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Kenyan agrobusiness company, Sasini Tea & Coffee's plans to raise $1.4 million from its shareholders following the payment of an interim dividend of 20 percent. Analysts believe that the bulk of the new funds will be pumped into the firm's coffee operations, which are to be expanded by the opening of a new mill in central Kenya, early this month. |
Analysts also believe that the decision by Sasini to invest more in the coffee arm of its operations was informed by the Kenyan government's decision to open up a "second window" for the marketing of the produce to complement the central auction, which operators within the industry have often criticised as being inefficient and bureaucratic.
With this second window, growers like Sasini can now enter into the direct sales market, relieving pressure on the central auction. Sasini's drive to maximise its earnings from coffee and tea was recently underlined by its acquisition of Aristocrats Coffee and Tea, a local firm specialising in the blending of tea and coffee for the international markets.
Apart from tea and coffee, the company has interests in dairy and horticultural farming. It is part of the Sameer Group, which is controlled by business magnate Naushad
Merali.
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