Category: East Africa
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Vodacom Tanzania extends IPO deadline
Vodacom Tanzania has extended the offer period for its initial public offering for a second time to allow foreign investors to take part, the telecom operator said on Wednesday. The company, a subsidiary of South Africa’s Vodacom Group, said it had received approval from Tanzania’s capital markets regulator to extend the offer period until July…
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Banks snub small firms for lack of proper books
Less than 25 per cent of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country have adopted International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), forcing majority of commercial banks to shun them. The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK), says majority of the SMEs lack proper books making it hard for banks to ascertain their financial…
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Treasury plans to sell Uchumi shares after retailer stabilises
The government is set to let go its shareholding in Uchumi Supermarkets once the troubled retailer stabilises under the ongoing bailout and restructuring plan. Trade Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo on Wednesday said the shareholding exit will come after the government recoups taxpayers’ funds invested in the company over the years. Uchumi is in talks with…
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Governors told to list assets, liabilities under their watch
Devolution Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri has directed governors to prepare a summary of assets and liabilities under their charge as the country prepares to elect new leaders. Mr Kiunjuri has handed each of the 47 county chiefs 30 days to set up a special team to oversee transfer of the assets and liabilities to their…
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Kenya: Solar firm secures Sh1.2bn to light homes
German off-grid solar firm Mobisol has secured 10 million euros (about Sh1.19 billion) from Finnfund to expand in East Africa. Mobisol in March announced plans to open 20 more stores in Kenya with an eye on increasing rural market share in the country. On Wednesday it said the Finnfund (Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation Ltd)…
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East Africa: Youth leading users of mobile banking
Nearly half of Kenyans aged between 18 and 35 have embraced mobile bank accounts as alternative banking channels continue to gain traction, fresh data shows. Financial Sector Deepening Kenya (FSD) annual report for 2016 shows that by the end of last year, 46 per cent of the young adults used mobile banking, helping grow financial…
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Kenya: Improved liquidity lifts T-bills uptake
The subscription rate for Treasury bills rose last week on improved liquidity in the money market, reversing a two week downward trend. The liquidity in the market had tightened in the last two weeks of June due to remittance of tax holdings by commercial banks to CBK at the end of the fiscal year, as…
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East Africa: Safaricom goes for photo IDs to block M-Pesa fraud
Telecoms operator Safaricom’s mobile money agents will soon start using photos to identify those withdrawing or depositing money on the popular M-Pesa platform in a new push to curb fraud. Safaricom said it has distributed about 25,000 pre-programmed smartphones to its mobile money agents to be used in registration of new SIM cards. The process involves…
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S. Africa rating firm drops deal with Kenyan insurer
South African agency, Global Credit Ratings (GCR), has announced it will no longer offer a rating for Saham Assurance Company Kenya, saying the withdrawal has been made at the behest of the insurer. GCR’s final rating for Saham saw it affirm a claims paying ability rating of A-, with a negative outlook based on the assurance…
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Kenya: Uhuru woos cereal, livestock farmers with Sh1.5 bn loan waiver
The government has waived a Sh1.5 billion loan owed by wheat, sorghum and livestock farmers in Kajiado, Narok and Baringo counties to the State’s agricultural credit institution. In a statement sent to newsrooms on Monday, State House spokesman Manoah Esipisu said the waiver of a loan owed to the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) is part…