Category: East Africa
-
Kenya consumer confidence falls on inflation and credit squeeze
A survey by a global consultancy shows Kenya’s consumer confidence for 2017 dropped significantly towards the end of last year, eroded by concern over inflation, the credit crunch, and unemployment. An index by Nielsen Holdings, an international performance management company, shows buyer confidence slumped by 11 points in quarter four of last year compared to…
-
Kenya:Coffee auction prices down 11pc after last week’s rebound
Coffee prices at the Nairobi auction declined by 11 percent in Tuesday sales after rebounding marginally last week. A market report from the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) indicates that a 50kg bag of coffee was sold at Sh24,000 this week compared with Sh27,000 in the previous sale. The Mombasa auction has also been registering low…
-
Kenya:Steady unit trust returns signal good year for money investors
Unit trust returns have held in a tight range in the first two months of the year, reflecting stable interest rates on government securities and bank deposits in the period. This signals another good year for money markets investors in contrast to fortunes of share investment that has not changed much in the period. Sector…
-
UN backs Kenya ban on plastic bags as industrialists cry foul
Kenya has banned the use of plastic bags for shopping from September in what could see 176 manufacturers close shop and thousands of jobs lost. Environment secretary Judy Wakhungu published the ban in a gazette notice to reduce dumping of the bags, earning accolades from the UN environmental agency, Unep. The UN estimates that 100…
-
Kenya:23 banks sign up to PesaLink mobile banking platform
About half of Kenyan banks have now joined the mobile and electronic money transaction service, PesaLink, giving momentum to the new platform that is intended to rival the service offered by telecommunications companies. The Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) says at least 23 lenders have signed to join the platform which will see banks rival the…
-
Kenyan firms count billions in losses after South Sudan’s currency rout
Kenyan multinationals with subsidiaries in South Sudan have lost billions of shillings to devaluation of the neighbouring country’s currency. The cost of living in South Sudan hit a cumulative three-year rate of 1,285.3 per cent in December. The runaway inflation has also led to a 97.3 per cent depreciation of the South Sudan pound against…
-
CBK signals end to licensing freeze with nod for Dubai bank
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) yesterday signalled its intention to lift the moratorium it had imposed on the licensing of new banks, saying it had started processing one local and one foreign application to set up operations. The CBK said it would finalise its approval of DIB Bank Kenya owned by UAE’s largest Islamic…
-
Kenya sinks Sh2 billion into New York consulate
Kenya has acquired a Sh2 billion office space in New York as part of a plan that will see taxpayers shoulder a Sh6.9 billion burden over the next three years to buy properties for the country’s diplomats and embassies in different world capitals. The Foreign Affairs ministry made the purchase public through documents tabled in…
-
Kenya:Sh384 million for swearing in President not in Budget
The cash for swearing in the President after the August 8 General Election is missing in the national budget for the year starting July, State House has revealed. State House reckons that the Treasury has not factored in Sh384.25 million for the occasion and is lobbying Parliament for the millions to be included in its…
-
Nairobi:City Hall hits traders with heavy licensing burden
Nairobi traders, already under pressure to secure trading permits by the March 31 deadline, have been hit by a sharp increase in annual licence fees, undermining efforts to improve ease of doing business in the city. The traders said the county government’s decision to bundle the licences has more than doubled the trading permit burden…