Category: East Africa
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East Africa:Burundi’s inflation rises to 17.6% yr/yr in October
Burundi’s inflation accelerated to 17.6 percent year-on-year in October from 15.2 percent in September due to rising food costs on local markets, official figures showed on Monday. Food inflation jumped to 28.0 percent in the year to October from 23.9 percent in September, the Institute of Economic Studies and Statistics (ISTEEBU) said in its monthly…
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Kenya: Unclaimed assets now hit Sh25bn
Unclaimed cash and securities surrendered to a State agency have hit Sh25.9 billion as managers of non-compliant firms face heavy penalties and jail terms. While the agency is now holding a large haul of cash, most of the surrendered assets are by publicly traded firms. Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority (UFAA) chief executive Kellen Kariuki said…
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Kenya: Lecturers launch pay increase strike today
Learning at public universities is set to be paralysed today when lecturers go on strike over the delayed implementation of a pay rise agreement. The strike follows the decision by universities to revert to previous salaries and allowances after implementing Sh10 billion arrears that were running to June 30. Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) secretary-general…
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Kenya: Equity bets big on Uganda subsidiary for profit growth
Equity Bank is looking at its Ugandan subsidiary as its best bet for growth in the coming years as its Kenyan and other regional markets slow down due to regulatory interventions, political squabbles and subdued commodity prices on the global markets. Equity’s Ugandan subsidiary posted a 37 per cent jump in profit in the nine…
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Shortage fears loom as supply of cheap maize flour dwindles
Reduced supply of subsidised maize flour has hit supermarkets days to the end of the subsidy scheme, raising fears of shortages. Some supermarkets did not have flour on Friday while others had only stocked one brand on reduced supplies of the Sh90 a packet flour. This has raised the likelihood of shortages and rationing of…
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US firm in Sh450m outlay for Nairobi condom-making plant
American investment firm Restance Inc is set to sink Sh450 million to establish a condom-making plant in Kenya. The firm will invest through East African Development Partners LLC, which it acquired 100 per cent in exchange for five million shares of Restance Inc. The shares were on Friday trading at Sh9 on the OTCMKTS, an…
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Kenya: Equity posts 3pc drop in net profit
Equity Bank is looking to transactions income and regional subsidiaries to grow its earnings as the cap on the cost of loans and a charged political environment cut its interest income and shaved its profit for the nine months to September. The largest bank by customer base Monday reported a three percent drop to Sh14.6…
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Kenya: 47pc of factories to shed jobs over election jitters
Half of Kenya manufacturers plan to shed jobs on reduced orders and sales linked to jitters over the prolonged electioneering period and tension over the October 26 repeat presidential poll, a new survey reveals. Kenya Association of Manufacturers’ 3rd Quarter Barometer says that 47 per cent of the industries plan to shed jobs over the…
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Kenya: How Sasra is keeping saccos fit to serve the credit market
Kenya’s famed co-operatives sector appears to be growing in the middle of turbulence arising from failure to comply with some regulatory requirements. For instance, a recent report by sector regulator said more than 100 deposit-taking savings and credit co-operative societies (saccos) did not meet the mandatory capital ratio requirement in 2016, raising questions over their…
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Kenya: Small businesses feel the weight of election standoff
Julie Scott, the managing director of travel and tour firm Bunson Travel Service, yesterday received a call from her business partners relaying what has become a regular message in the past month. A group of about 70 businesspeople that were to jet into Nairobi from around the world for a regional management meeting had changed…