Economy
Africa Logistics Properties Launches Modern Warehousing Parks in Kenya
A leading real estate firm in Kenya, Africa Logistics Properties (ALP), has launched its first 49,000 sqm of modern grade –A warehousing at ALP North Industrial Park with 75 percent of the facility pre-leased at a time when other segments of the commercial, retail and residential real estate market are struggling to achieve total occupancy of 75 percent.
“The near complete uptake of ALP North prior to launch speaks to the scale of the warehousing shortage in Kenya. But it also demonstrates that real estate requires developers to concentrate on the genuine areas of market need,” said Toby Selman, CEO of ALP.
The demand for grade-A warehousing, which delivers significant cost savings and efficiency for users, currently far exceeds supply in the country, with warehouse users reporting that finding suitable facilities is frequently impossible, according to recent research by Tilisi Developments.
This shortage contrasts sharply with overbuild in some other real estate segments. The oversupply of commercial space in Nairobi reached 4.7m sqft in 2017, while retail space oversupply reached 3.7 m sq ft. Meanwhile, the supply of mall space rose by 41.6 percent last year, even as demand stagnated.
As a result, according to Knight Frank’s 2018 Kenya Market Update report, the occupancy rate for new retail centres is now running at between 60 and 75 percent.
This shifting balance of supply and demand has also changed relative investment yields, with commercial and retail yields falling from 11 percent three years ago to eight percent by 2017, while residential property yields are now running at 5.6 percent. This has moved warehousing yields to pole position within real estate, at 8.5 percent.
“The proportion of pre-leasing has also been driven by the quality of the warehousing, which just does not exist elsewhere in Kenya and East Africa at the moment,” said Selman.
That scarcity has driven far higher pre-leasing by ALP in Nairobi than is normal elsewhere. In the US, the pre-lease rate recently rose to 43 percent from a 17-year running average of 38 percent, according to a recent report by CBRE, a global leader in real estate services.
However, ALP’s distribution hubs have brought international design practices that now sharply boost efficiency and productivity. For instance, the new warehousing offers pallet stacking 12 metres high, instead of the four metres offered by others in the market, as well as large column grids of 12m by 24m, which results in denser storage capacity and reduces the cost per pallet by up to 30 percent.
The site also incorporates laser-levelled floors with anti-scratch coating that bear up to 10 tonnes. These allow the incorporation of automation systems, such as dock levellers, mechanized loading conveyors, and fork-lift-mechanized loading, cranes and loading platforms, which together improve turn-around time and cut labour by up to 76 percent.
Traffic management flows also facilitate quicker turnaround times for trucks and deliveries, and the warehousing offers improved, healthy and safety measures, fire-fighting systems with sprinklers, fibre optic telecommunications, and solar panels on rooftops for greater energy efficiency.
Located on the key peripheral routes connecting Kenya’s largest airport, JKIA, to the main transport corridors from Kenya to Uganda and Rwanda, “ALP’s strategic positioning further increases distribution and supply chain efficiencies,” said Selman.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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