If you are looking for something to do this weekend, CytonnInvestments is holding an open day on Saturday for clients and members of the public on site at The Ridge.

The show house for the project will be unveiled, giving guests a preview of what the finished product will be like. Visitors get to sample the distinct and magnificent lifestyle development and ask the management questions on any issues about Cytonn’s activities.

The event will run from 12 noon to 4 pm, so that clients have enough time to explore the site, view the show house, and interact with the management of Cytonn.

The Ridge.

Alongside the open day, the company is offering a 5% discount for early buyers, which will run for a limited time. Interested guests are advised to sign up and reserve their slots before spaces run out.

This project was made for people who want to live in luxury and style, at surprisingly affordable rates. The list of amenities goes on and on, but I think the best part about it is the location. Imagine living just a few minutes from Windsor Golf Club, Two Rivers Mall, UNEP headquarters, and only 10 km from town!

The luxury project will have 1,2,3 & 3 bedroom apartments withdomestic servants’ quarters (DSQ).

Just a few months ago, Cytonn handed over the Amara in Karen, another of its projects, which is currently 100% complete and sold, proving they have what it takes to deliver beautiful, exclusive homes that perceptive Kenyans can enjoy.

If you want to buy a home or to invest, this is your opportunity! You cannot afford to miss out. RSVP here.

Cytonn Investments Management Plc (‘Cytonn’), the leading alternative investment management firm in the East African Region, has today entered into a transaction with its leading institutional partner, Taaleri of Finland, whereby Taaleri has acquired the option to subscribe for up to 20% of Cytonn. Upon consummation, the transaction enhances the Cytonn & Taaleri relationship beyond project finance to shareholding.

This will be the 5^th time the Finnish firm will be investing with Cytonn, having already committed over Kshs 5.0 bn towards projects and investments with Cytonn, namely The Alma, The Ridge, Situ Village and Amara Ridge, which has already been delivered to homeowners. In addition to their investments, Taaleri has already successfully received back its investments from Amara Ridge and The Alma, underlining Cytonn’s commitment to deliver above-average returns in real estate for global institutional investors.

Taaleri is a financial group, whose parent company Taaleri Oyj’s shares are listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. Taaleri manages investments worth Kshs 813 bn and provides funding in the capital-intensive real estate sector in Africa through two Africa dedicated real estate funds.

Speaking at the signing of the agreement, Edwin H. Dande, CEO of Cytonn Investments, noted that “We are thankful to Taaleri for the continued support they have shown to the Cytonn brand. This transaction is important for two reasons; first it affirms market confidence in our brand and unique business model, and second it provides a strong anchor investor as we prepare for our IPO, which we hope to complete next year, either at a local or global exchange. We have already engaged with two sets of transaction advisors, in Nairobi and London, to explore a local listing either at the Nairobi Securities Exchange, NSE, or a listing at the London Stock Exchange, LSE, respectively. The ultimate listing jurisdiction will depend on valuation, investor interest and ease of listing. We also hope to broaden our partnerships by bringing on board one additional local or global anchor institutional investor at the IPO.”

Speaking at the signing, Mr. Juhani Elomaa, CEO of Taaleri Group, who recently visited Cytonn’s real estate projects noted that “Taaleri and Cytonn are now in their fifth year of partnership, and Cytonn remains our trusted partner for deploying capital to the East African Region. Through Cytonn, Finnish Pension Funds and Investors have not only earned attractive returns that are not available in the developed markets, but we have contributed to growing the Kenyan economy, creating jobs, and driving the deepening of capital markets through structured finance transactions. The share options agreement for a 20% stake is an opportunity to deepen the relationship beyond project finance to shareholding.”

Cytonn Investments Management Plc is an independent investment management firm, with offices in Nairobi – Kenya and D.C. Metro – U.S.l and are primarily focused on offering alternative investment solutions to individual high net-worth investors, global and institutional investors and Kenyans in the diaspora interested in the high-growth East-African region. They currently have over Kshs 82.0 billion of investments and projects under mandate, mainly in real estate.

Cytonn Real Estate is Cytonn’s development affiliate, which is focused on developing institutional grade real estate targeted at specific institutional, high net-worth and Diaspora investors. Collective, Cytonn Investments and Cytonn Real Estate manage over Kshs 82.0 billion of real estate projects.

Gutted with Systems’s operations, Humphrey Muchiri an ordinary Kenyan has kicked off a petition to force reforms in the banking system, “Banks have been FRUSTRATING and STEALING from Kenyans by requiring debtors to pay up to 50 TIMES the principal borrowed against the law.” He writes.

This is in spite of Amendment No. 9 of 2006 of the Banking Act, which ushered in the application of the in duplum rule. This rule simply provides that banks only recover contractual interest that does not exceed the principal amount owing. At Section 44, the act clearly indicates that the amendment is retrospective, meaning that it is applicable to all loans including those that were issued before the change. Parliament’s resolve to afford inviolable protection to ALL debtors is evident in myriad Hansard records.

Eleven years on, however, the impunity that parliament sought to arrest persists. The expectation was that banks would align their practices accordingly, and that any discrepancies in applying the law would be cured in Court. But this has not been the case.

Indeed, judges have taken care to calculate interest and enable consumers to redeem their properties. It is perplexing that the same banks whose unconscionable interests are nullified in court just proceed to do the same thing to the next consumers, and the vicious cycle of blatant theft and abuse continues. National Bank of Kenya and its debt recovery employees are the most notorious culprits here according to the petition.

The violence of this illegal, usurious practice is horrifying. Many Kenyans have lost and continue to lose their properties and millions of shillings because of this kind of impunity.

And since most of the debtors who are affected by this illegal practice are now old, many have gone into shock or simply died. The amendment sought to shore up the right to redeem one’s property and prevent banks from bankrupting Kenyans just because they at one time needed and took loans.

Imagine being thrown out of property worth millions or even tens of millions just because of a Sh200, 000 loan that has miraculously shot up to Sh20 million. Imagine facing unscrupulous bankers bent on defeating consumers’ protection under Section 44 and even going so far as skipping the need to issue redemption notices according to the Land Act. The distress and losses caused by this evil are unfathomable.

“Urgent actions are needed to end this evil usurious culture at NBK and other banks ONCE AND FOR ALL. Banks and their officials MUST understand that rights accrue to ALL Kenyans, not just the few who manage to go to court.” Says the petition.

The precise requests of the petition to the relevant bodies and persons include:

1. the cancellation of all private treaties that customers have been induced into signing under duress and fraudulently thereby burdening them with hefty loans.
2. the cancellation of all redemption notices that mention ridiculous amounts whose only purpose is to defeat borrowers’ right of redemption and strip them of their valuable property
3. the stoppage of all attempts to exercise the statutory power of sale until all consumers are notified of the correct outstanding amounts
4. that all bankers who have slapped consumers with unconscionable interests and failed to give them legitimate notices that uphold their right of redemption be held liable for their actions
5. that banks be forced to reimburse all Kenyans who have been prejudiced so far
6. that banks be forced to calculate interest in the letter and spirit of Section 44
7. that banks and auctioneers be forced to adhere to the Land Act, which governs the issue of redemption notices
8. that banks, their officials, and auctioneers be investigated with a view to punishing any malpractice and reimbursing all victims.

The expectation is that the petition will go a long way into transforming bank practices as well as safeguarding lives and property.

Have you been a victim of this scheme or have a story on any bank that you’d like to share and be published? Write to me on ([email protected])