Service Sector

BP (ZM)

The surge in the price of oil globally impacts positively on this stock. The current oil price of close to US a barrel is expected to push the price of the BP stock up for the next two years. Although the price of oil is expected to stabilise at around US a barrel in 2008 there is high likelihood that oil price is going to become highly politicised and will probably be allowed to move up to US0 before any real intervention by the Opec members. Regardless of the trend of global price of oil, BP performance since 2005 has been extremely bullish and highly rewarding to investors. BP share price has moved steadly from a mere ZWK410 in Dec 2005 to as high as ZWK1200 in October 2007. Since January 2007 the share price has moves gradually from ZWK749.

ZSUG (ZM)

Zambia sugar has recorded steady growth in its share price from ZWK160 in December 2005 to ZWK392 in October 2007. The demand for sugar is steadly growing with increased disposable incomes and general positive economic outlook being experienced in Zambia currently. However a more interesting phenomenon is the sudden increase in price of oil globally which is bringing to fore the issue of methanol as an alternate source of fuel. Although this is far fetched for smaller ecomonies like Zambia there is likely going to be a lot of research and interest in finding practical alternative sources of oil and demand for sugar is likely to grow rallying interest in the ZSUG stock.

Trunstar Holdings

A property development company in Botswana , Trunstar is in a high growth industry with a lot of government spending in Botswana ear marked towards infrastructure and property development generally. Although this is not a necessarily aggressive stock to invest in it is stable and has a lot of growth potential . The share price of Trunstar has gradually moved up from January from an average of BPW100 in Jan 2007 to BPW155 by July 2007. Fundamentally property development will continue to receive private and public attention which will boost the earnings and overall revenue growth for Trunstar. This is a stable long term buy.

Constain PLC (NG)

A construction company in one of Africa 's fastest growing economy with huge investment being channelled towards infrastructure development , Constain is set to benefit from the expected growth in the Nigeria private and public infrastructure developments . Constain recently restructured its management in 2007 which brought a turn around in its overall business performance . Profits rose by about 260 percent for year ending 31st March 2007 thanks to a number of business process reengineering and restructuring brought about by the new management. More equity has also been injected into the company with the introduction of Shoreline Energy international. Constain has also diversified its operations to capture the latent market of furniture and fittings which is in its own a significant business proposition in a market where such skills and quality of joinery is not sufficient. As a buy Constain at N18 is expected grow to as high as N80 where its construction giants such as Julius Berger share price is sitting and with strong earnings this is a good buy

Julius Berger

Julius Berger Nigeria Plc satisfies its clients through a wide range of activities rendered by its Six (6) sub units namely; Building, Infrastructure, Industries, Marine structures, Pipelines and Special services.. Julius Berger Nigeria Plc recorded a brilliant performance in 2006. Gross earnings increased from N39.8 billion recorded in 2005 to N56.9 billion in 2006. This indicates 42.7% increase in the company's 2006 turnover. In the same vein, Profit before tax increased by 97.5% to N2.2 billion in 2006 while profit after tax rose by 78.5% from the 2005 value of N626.9 million. Simply put, Profit after tax increased to N1.1billion in the reviewed year. Also, the company's 2006 retained earning was N1.1 billion as against the N416.8 million recorded in 2005.. The government millennium goals has placed infrastructure development as a critical milestone to achieve development and Julius Berger is the most reputed in the country and is expected to drive most of this development.

Sechaba Holdings

A brewery company in Botswana, Sechaba share price has been growing steadly this year due to increase in disposable income overally . Botswana market is heavily a consuming market and with increase in employment rate , growth in disposable income , low inflation Sechaba business is expected to continue growing steadily. A close look at the performance of some of the FMCG businesses such as Metsafe, Sefalana mostly consumer stocks clearly shows a significant market preference FMCG stocks.

Sasini Tea

Kenya is among the top suppliers of global tea in the world and given Kenya 's strong tea production capabilities and increased government spending in agriculture development Sasini is expected to increase its supplier base and also see expansion of consumer base due to increased disposable income and expansion in foreign currency earnings. At KSH29 share price with a market capitalisation of KSH 14.7 billion the Sasini share is set to rise to its compatriots FMCG counterparts such as East African breweries 's share price of of KSH154.

RT Briscoe

RTB is principally engaged in the sales and service of motor vehicles as well as technical equipment, including forklifts, industrial compressors, mining and drilling equipment and generating sets. Its products and services are currently delivered through three divisions: Briscoe sales of Toyota has moved to as high as 200 vehciles per month. Some of the key opportunities available to Briscoe are appreciation of dollar versus yen ,. Significant increase in demand for Toyotas ,. Reduction in marketing costs for high-margin AtlasCopco compressors ,. Sale of non-premium generators ,. Sale of Ford motors as substitutes for Toyotas. Briscoe is activiely involved in Generator, telecommunications equipment, folklifts real estate and etc and has a strong diversified portfolio which makes it a solid conglomerate.

Mumias Sugar Company Kenya

Mumias Sugar Company is the largest sugar processor in Kenya with an annual capacity of 520,000 tonnes, against 600,000 tonnes of sugar demanded locally. Most of the output is sold locally, with part of the produce being exported. Mumias Sugar is diversifying into other products. The company has undertaken a project in power generation that is expected to add 25MW to the national grid by November 2008. The power will be sold to KenGen and will also be used in the company's operations, thus reaping reductions in energy costs thereby reducing running costs.Mumias Sugar is the market leader in the local and regional sugar industry controlling about 50% of the market. The company achieved this successthrough an extensive marketing and branding campaign. This has ensured thatMumias sugar sells at premium prices compared to other local competingmanufacturers' brands.The company has invested heavily in plant and process modernization to ensureincreased production efficiency. These efforts have been aimed at minimizing theunit production costs.The company successfully implemented an Enterprise Resource Planning System(ERP) and an Agricultural Management System that involves business processreengineering to improve efficiencies so as to lower the cost of production.Local demand is projected to grow at about 9% annually; Mumias Sugar'scurrent production scarcely meets the local demand