Food prices offset gains from low energy bills edging up inflation to 5.61pc

Inflation bucked a five month decline in February, inching up marginally on rising prices of key food items which offset benefits from lower energy bills. Data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) shows that the cost of living measure stood at 5.61 per cent in February, up from 5.53 per cent last month. The fall in fuel prices partly offset the rise in the prices of some food items. Inflation had been dropping since last August when it hit a 25–month high of 8.36 per cent and was cooled by falling electricity and fuel prices [...]

Airtel spends Sh2.5bn on high-speed Internet upgrade

Airtel Kenya has spent Sh2.5 billion on upgrade of its network across the country to boost its 3G high-speed Internet access as it takes on market leader Safaricom, which is already rolling out 4G connectivity. This comes after increased proliferation of smartphones has raised demand for data services, providing a new growth avenue for the telcos. The upgrade will improve indoor coverage penetration and data quality for 3G Internet users [...]

CfC Stanbic triples dividend payout after 10.9pc profit rise

CfC Stanbic Holdings has nearly tripled its dividend payout following a 10.9 per cent increase in net profit for the full-year ended 2014, driven by sharp growth in interest income. The holding company, which owns CfC Stanbic Bank and its stockbrokerage outfit SBG Securities, reported a profit after tax of Sh5.6 billion up from Sh5.1 billion a year earlier. The company said it will be paying a total dividend of Sh6.15 per share compared to the Sh2.15 paid to its shareholders last year. Despite the dividend announcement and profit growth, the company’s share price at the Nairobi Securities Exchange on Thursday fell to Sh132 a unit from the previous day’s Sh139 a share [...]

KAM urges counties to attract business by revising tax regimes

Investors want county governments to restructure their tax regimes in order to make the devolved units more attractive to business. Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) which was represented at the ongoing Governors Summit in Naivasha on Thursday indicated that there were countless business opportunities in counties but most investors were repulsed by unnecessary taxes imposed by county governments which ended up locking out investment [...]

Dubai schools chain selects Nairobi base

A Dubai-based chain of international schools, GEMS Education, has designated Kenya as its headquarters for Africa operations. The education network which runs the local elite school GEMS Cambridge International, has also announced expansion plans to neighbouring countries. As part of its growth plans, GEMS plans to set up additional schools in Kenya and Kampala targeting different categories of customers, and make its West African debut through Lagos in Nigeria [...]