Category: East Africa

Movement of crude oil from Turkana fields to Mombasa port on road will start mid-this month after three Kenyan companies won lucrative contracts to provide trucks and oil tank-tainers. Petroleum PS Andrew Kamau said yesterday this is the final phase of the early oil export journey that seeks to test Kenya’s crude in the global…

Mortgage lender Shelter Afrique has picked a Zimbabwean banker to implement proposals made in a forensic audit into cases of accounts manipulation and professional misconduct at the institution. The troubled housing lender has hired Stanley Tsikirayi as a ‘change agent’ for a term of eight weeks following the exit of South African national Dave Jennings.…

Barclays Bank of Kenya has introduced the Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) for its cardholders. This allows the conversion of the purchase price for goods or services into a currency the customer is more familiar with. Trading in a currency best understood by the buyer is meant to ease transactions for international customers so as to…

Sugar prices have reached a new high with the two-kilogramme packet now retailing at Sh330, which together with expensive milk is set to make breakfast costly especially for low-income people. This comes amid a severe shortage of sugar on the shelves with nearly all supermarkets only stocking the Kabras brand. The commodity has been retailing…

East Africa’s largest economy, Kenya, holds the dubious distinction of having the region’s highest unemployment rate, the United Nations says in its latest assessment of human development that throws a huge policy-making challenge at Nairobi. The 2017 Human Development Index (HDI) shows that Kenya’s rate of unemployment is now equal to those of neighbouring Ethiopia…

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has put on notice commercial banks and credit reference bureaus (CRB) over inaccurate data on borrowers. CBK chairman Mohammed Nyaoga said complaints about inaccurate listings by customers if not well handled by the banks and the credit reference bureaus pose significant reputational risks to the firms. “Customer complaints arising…

Coffee, tea and cocoa prices could fall by more than six per cent this year due to greater supply, a report says. The World Bank report, however, also projects that agricultural raw materials production is expected to rise by four per cent. According to the World Bank’s Commodity Markets Outlook, returns from the three beverages…

Online taxi-hailing company Uber’s decision to introduce a low-cost option for customers willing to use older cars, has set the stage for a fresh confrontation with drivers. The firm’s drivers have vowed to go on strike to oppose the lower charges. The bargain product costing Sh30 per kilometre, Sh2.50 per minute with the base and…

Pan­African housing financier Shelter Afrique is at high risk of defaulting on its debt, ratings agency Moody’s has warned. Moody’s has downgraded the issuer rating of Shelter Afrique to Caa1 from B3 and assigned a negative outlook after a review of the lender’s books initiated on February 17. “The downgrade to Caa1 reflects Moody’s view that Shelter Afrique’s current…