Nairobi, Sept. 13 -- The banking and agriculture segments have the best profitability record at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), making them the most attractive for investors chasing dividends in a period of limited capital gains on stocks.

An analysis of listed company financials shows the two segments are the only ones whose entire portfolio of constituent stocks made a profit in their most recent reporting periods, other than single stock segments such as investment services (NSE) automobiles (Car & General) and telecoms (Safaricom).

Companies in other segments have mixed profitability records, indicative of the difficult economic climate facing the private sector in the country in sectors such as services, energy, investments ...