KCPE candidates record best results of the last five

Performance in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam improved significantly last year with more than half of the candidates achieving more than 250 marks.

The results released by Education minister Mutula Kilonzo Monday, showed that the mean score of 250 marks (out of 500) was the best in the past five years. It was also the first time that the average mark had crossed the 50 per cent mark over the period.

Striking managers paralyse work at port over pay row

Key operations at the Kenya Ports Authority were paralysed Monday after an estimated 1,500 middle-level managers and departmental heads downed their tools.

The managers were demanding that their salaries be raised to the level of those earned by their counterparts in other parastatals.

FastJet ties up with Jetlink to launch low-cost carrier

Jetlink has inked an agreement with budget carrier FastJet to launch a low-cost carrier amid uncertainty over the ownership and role of Fly540 in the joint venture.

The budget carrier Monday said the new airline will be used as a platform to launch the FastJet brand in Kenya after receiving approvals from the boards of two firms and licences from the civil aviation authority.

Tea earnings to rise by 4pc to Sh116bn this year, says board

Export earnings from tea are expected to increase by 4 per cent this year on account of higher production and stable prices in the international market.

On Monday, the Tea Board of Kenya said it expects tea exports to fetch Sh116 billion this year, up from Sh112.2 billion last year. In 2011, tea exports earned the country Sh109.4 billion.

Power firm projected to offer good returns

Adoption of an automated billing system has earned Kenya Power a place in the list of companies that are expected to offer good value to investors this year, according to a research note by Old Mutual Securities.

The securities research company also noted that the power distributor is faced with a host of income growth opportunities arising from the fact that electricity penetration in the country is yet to reach the minimum targeted level in the Vision 2030 economic growth blueprint.

Foreign investment at NSE rises 130pc

Foreign investor inflows at the stock market rose 130 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, compared with a previous period in 2011, on account of increasing confidence in the country and attractive yields.

According to data compiled by PineBridge Investments, foreign investors injected Sh20 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012 in the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), up from Sh8.8 billion in a similar period in 2011.

Looming elections cast shadow on interest rates

A possible rise in spending due to an expanded government structure could put pressure on interest rates.

Fund managers at PineBridge Investments said the March 4 polls could also put pressure on the Shilling, disrupting the prevailing macroeconomic stability.

London reinsurer enters Kenya market

International reinsurance broker Afro-Asian Insurance Services has opened a Kenya Liaison Office in a move that will help to provide regional insurance companies with an expanded pool of reinsurers they can transfer risks to.

The Kenya office will serve the company’s clients in Eastern and Central African countries. The news is a boost to the local insurance industrv after it recently emerged that various London based reinsurers were scaling back their risk exposure in the country as elections approach.