Britam to defend large HF stake in Sh3.5bn cash call

The insurance and investment company which owns 46.08 per cent of Housing Finance will enable the mortgage company to have a successful fund raising if it participates in the upcoming rights issue. Britam, which acquired a 24.7 per cent stake of Housing Finance that was owned by Equity Bank in December 2014, will have a chance to extend its stake in the issue. HF is selling 116,666,667 shares to its existing owners at a discounted price of Sh30 per unit to raise an additional capital of Sh3.5 billion. New shares will be distributed in the ratio of one for every two shares currently held. The company’s shares traded at an average Sh48.50 each on Tuesday. The new shares will be distributed in the ratio of one for every two shares currently held. NIC Capital is the transaction advisor [...]

Base Resources eyes Sh2.3bn tax refund in Treasury payout

The Australian mining company indicated that the cash was from the value added tax (VAT) paid for the construction of the Sh26.4 billion Kwale Mineral Sands Project which started in December 2011. The project is expected to earn Base Resources Sh64 billion over the mine’s 13-year life and the government Sh20 billion in royalties and other taxes. The mining industry as a whole is expected to generate Sh255 billion per year for the next 24 years. The Kenyan Cabinet secretary to the Treasury announced recently that government of Kenya’s would settle all outstanding VAT claims by April 2015 [...]

CBA renews growth drive with 16 branches

The bank has plans to open 16 new branches in Kenya over the next three years. This expansion follows the opening of new branches in Nanyuki and Kampala last year, by one of Kenya’s most conservative and corporate-oriented lenders. CBA, which is the largest non-listed bank in the country, has been expanding its retail business rapidly with introduction of M-Shwari, a loan and deposit facility, in partnership with Safaricom. The firm which is listed a bond at the Nairobi Securities Exchange is doing expansion as part of its medium term plan running to 2018.It currently has 24 branches with a target of reaching 40. In Tanzania it has 11 branches while in Uganda it has 1 branch [...]

Tom Gitogo to head CIC as Nelson Kuria leaves earlier

CIC Group has selected Tom Gitogo as its new chief executive officer after the early retirement of current CEO Nelson Kuria. Tom Gitogo who is the veteran insurance manager having worked at Pan African Life Insurance as its chief executive also becomes a board director effective March 1. CIC also recently appointed Mary Mungai as a non-executive director, in the docket of Industrialization in co-operative development and marketing, as a replacement to Stella Kaimenyi, who resigned from the board at the end of 2014 [...]

CBK forex cash falls by Sh11.8bn after peaking

The foreign exchange reserves of Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) have dropped by Sh11.8 billion in 2015, a reversal to its upward trend. The reserves which stood at Sh675.68 billion ($7.425 billion) on January 14^th this year signaled a drop in comparison with Sh663.85 billion ($7.295 billion), its value at the end of last year. This could be due to CBK selling of dollars in the first week of 2015 and paying out external loans [...]