1. KenolKobil share falls by 9 percent on high investor sales
KenolKobil slipped to a three month low of KES 13.35 following speculation earlier in the session that its take-over negotiations with Puma Energy were having some challenges and the deal could be terminated. The transaction advisers have, however, indicated that the deal has not been terminated and negotiations are still ongoing.
2. Uganda’s Umeme gets approval to list on NSE
The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has given the green light for the listing of Ugandan power distributor Umeme Limited’s shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, barely weeks after the firm went public in Kampala. CMA authorised Umeme to list on the Main Investment Market Segment of the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) by introducing 1,623,878,005 ordinary shares.
3. Kenyan police stations beef up security
New security measures include the construction of perimeter walls and reinforcing metal gates so police can carefully monitor entrances. Mombasa central police station moved its entrance from a busy street to a side door. At the Bamburi police station on the Mombasa-Malindi highway, a gate is being erected to control the flow of traffic.
4. IEBC sets out to list pastoralists
Voter registration clerks will now reach out to pastoralists wherever they are in an all-out effort to boost listing ahead of the Tuesday deadline. The electoral commission has also teamed up with two lobbies agitating for cleanliness, where the clerks will be at hand to list people who will take part in clean-up exercises.
5. Safaricom faces court challenge over banking service
Faulu Kenya, an organization that lends small amounts of money to consumers and small businesses who can’t borrow from banks, has launched a legal action accusing Safaricom of breaching its intellectual property rights with the launch of the service. In its lawsuit, Faulu said it had taken a proposal for a similar offering to Safaricom a year ago, before deciding to start a service with the country’s second-biggest mobile operator, Bharti Airtel.
6. Marende warns over delayed budget statement
The Speaker of the National Assembly Kenneth Marende is now cautioning the Executive against the continued delay in presenting the policy statement for next year’s budget which is a breach of constitutional and statutory requirements. Expressing concern over the continued absence of MPs in the House to conduct business, Marende directed the Cabinet to expedite the submission of the estimates to Parliament at least before January 4 next year, to enable MPs constructively scrutinize the estimates.
7. Somali Rebels Offered Up To USD 8000 To Kill Kenyan Forces
An intelligence message intercepted from an Al-Qaida-linked Somali militant group shows that the rebels are being offered up to $8,000 as a reward for killing Kenyan security officers, a Kenyan official said Thursday. The rewards are enough incentive to motivate some youths in Garissa to carry out attacks against security forces, Garissa County Commissioner Maalim Mohammed said. The assassination-for-pay offer by Al-Shabab varies with the security officer’s rank, Mohammed said. Kenya has experienced a string of gun and grenade attacks since it sent troops into Somalia to pursue the Al-Shabab extremists.
8. Citi analysts see drop in Kenya banks total profit
Citibank analysts have predicted that profitability of Kenyan banks could drop by double digits next year, weighed down by the fall in lending rates and higher costs of mobilising deposits. The research arm of the American-owned commercial bank projects that although Kenyan banks will see growth in volume of new loans, there will be a 12 per cent fall in profit after tax as net interest margins fall since higher deposit rates will persist even as the lending rates drop considerably.