Bobby Otieno

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  Banks accuse foreign currency account holders - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 2/21/2006    Last Visited: 2/21/2006  

  "Exporters and FCDA holders are clinging on to their foreign currencies in a bid to make windfall profits from the devaluation," said Bobby Otieno, Stanbic Bank's Head of the Treasury Department.Otieno said lower foreign currency proceeds due to lack of inflows from the tobacco sector had further worsened the situation.Tobacco-the country's leading export commodity-accounts for more than 60 percent of Malawi's total foreign currency proceeds.Sales of the leaf are off season and are expected to open on March 13.Otieno said during the period the kwacha has been slipping in value, demand for United States dollars outstripped supply levels as the lean period reached a peak.

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  Budget support keeps kwacha steady - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 7/13/2006    Last Visited: 7/13/2006  

  We do not expect fundamentals to change in the near future," said Bobby Otieno, Head of Treasury in the bank's weekly market report.

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  Business News | Improved forex inflows supports... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 5/10/2005    Last Visited: 5/10/2005  

  Data showed that the shilling last went to this range on May 5, when it briefly hit a high of Sh75.80 to the "We have seen some good flows from tea and horticulture sector this morning," Robert Otieno, the treasurer at Stanbic Bank said.

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  Business News | Shilling eases against dollar in thin... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 4/26/2005    Last Visited: 4/26/2005  

  Robert Otieno, the treasury manager at Stanbic Bank, said he expected the shilling to gain slightly during the week if key sectors brought in dollars.
  
  "I'm not sure, but if there are a lot of tea and non-governmental organisation flows, we could see it come down a bit, probably by 20 cents," he said.
  
  Otieno expects the shilling to trade in the tight Sh76.50/70. - Reuters

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  Import backlog threatens kwacha—Stanbic - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 3/24/2006    Last Visited: 3/24/2006  

  Stanbic Malawi Head of Treasury Bobby Otieno said this week whilst the kwacha appears to be nearing stability amidst growing expectation of huge export proceeds from tobacco, there is a risk to the down size due to the large import back-log that still prevails on the market.Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) Chief Executive Officer Chancellor Kaferapanjira says the problem has affected the private sector.He mentioned Bakhresa Grain and Milling and Optichem as some of the worst affected companies.

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  Import cover now at 3.05 months—Stanbic - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 8/10/2006    Last Visited: 8/10/2006  

  Bobby Otieno, Stanbic Bank (Malawi) Head of Treasury Department, said the import cover-which had hitherto been hovering between 1.7 and 2 months-is now at 3.05 months.He said this was an indication of increasing inflows from the country's bilateral donors.
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  In his report, Otieno also notes that the Malawi kwacha strengthened against the US dollar, selling at K139.64 from K139.73 the previous week."The kwacha has been well supported by tobacco and tea proceeds," he said.But the bank says the kwacha-whilst holding strong to steady at present-may fluctuate in the third quarter of this year which covers July to September."The long-awaited decision on when and whether Malawi reaches HIPC [Heavily Indebted Poor Countries] completion point will also have a great bearing on currency levels, " says Otieno.

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  Jack up or close down, RBM boss tells banks - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 10/22/2006    Last Visited: 10/23/2006  

  Stanbic Bank head of treasury Bobby Otieno said the pan African brand has intensified its efforts by increasing the lending portfolio to the private sector.He could not say by how much.He said Stanbic braced up its operations by attracting more customers to acquire loans through softer lending policies."We anticipated that the treasury bills market will come down and indeed we've got to increase our lending to the private sector.Commercial banks have to develop an appetite for lending to the private sector," said Otieno.The Stanbic treasury boss said the bank is targeting the economy's infrastructure sector by having "an open mind" about lending and making sure that there is growth."Tourism can do better, so can agriculture, especially Macadamia nuts," he noted.

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  Kwacha close to stability—Stanbic - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 3/6/2006    Last Visited: 3/6/2006  

  Stanbic Head of Treasury Bobby Otieno said in a report last week that the kwacha is showing some signs of improvement as evidenced by reduced pace at which it is falling against the green buck.He said the kwacha depreciated by 0.2 percent against the green buck during the week from 20 to 24 February representing a K0.3082 plunge which is a bit better compared to 0.6 percent depreciation registered the week before.He added that donor in-flows will also give some much needed support to the local unit.The local currency depreciated by six percent between January and mid-February against the dollar as high demand continued to out-pace supply on the forex market amid low official reserves.Currency traders predicted mid February that the local currency will continue weakening until the start of the tobacco auctioning season scheduled to commence between 13 and 20 March 2006.As at February 17, 2006 import cover statistics from the Reserve Bank of Malawi were at 1.64 months."However, the general market expectations are that the inflows from the fresh approval by the International Monetary Fund will boost the reserves," said Otieno.

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  Kwacha depreciation heightens speculation - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 3/17/2006    Last Visited: 3/17/2006  

  "Vividly, the daily devaluation of the kwacha continues to be of great concern to importers and traders because it continues to fuel speculation," Bobby Otieno, Stanbic's Head of Treasury said in a weekly market update.He said against the US dollar, the kwacha has lost 38 tambala this week alone to trade at K134.51 per dollar.Otieno said commercial banks are sitting on a backlog of import orders due to inadequate supply of foreign currency in the financial market.News of the start of tobacco sales at the country's auction floors-which was expected to dampen the speculation motive and keep the local currency steady-has not had the desired impact.When in season, sales of tobacco-the major source of Malawi's foreign exchange earnings-help to keep the local currency stable when in season.Otieno said reports of higher quality and production of tobacco this year, and resumption of aid inflows should offer scope for midterm stability of the kwacha.

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  Kwacha softens - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 12/8/2005    Last Visited: 12/9/2005  

  Bobby Otieno, Head of Treasury Department at the bank, said in a press release yesterday the fall represented a 0.01 percent move.Stanbic said the current import cover as at last week's statistics from the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) was at 1.99 months, down from 2.07 months due to the central bank releasing foreign currency into the market. The RBM had to avail the forex for petroleum imports and other essentials like maize and fertiliser registered under government contracts."Incremental donor flows are expected to continue streaming in, whilst the Reserve Bank of Malawi is expected to continue availing foreign exchange for essential commodities.This should limit any significant moves in the exchange rate," said Otieno.He said the recent fuel hike will exert further pressure on the country's inflation rate, now standing at 15.9 percent and under pressure from food shortages that have left close to half the population starving.He, however, said the inflation rate is expected to remain relatively stable as the government has controlled maize prices to trade at K850 per 50kg bag.

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