Uchumi targets Sh5bn from new strategic investor

Uchumi Supermarkets is looking for a strategic investor to take a controlling stake in the retailer in exchange for a Sh5 billion capital injection. Uchumi plans to create an additional one billion shares to accommodate the new investor, which will more than double its current authorised shares of 900 million units. It has so far issued only 364.9 million shares [...]

CfC Stanbic Bank rule tightens anti-money laundering loopholes

CfC Stanbic Bank will require customers to provide the physical address for all local and international payment beneficiaries in a move aimed at tightening its anti-money laundering and tax compliance measures. The bank has stated in a notice to customers that provision of the beneficiary’s physical address for the payments will be mandatory in future transactions [...]

UAP to sell general insurance directly

UAP/Old Mutual Group is introducing a direct distribution channel to grow its general and life insurance businesses. CEO says company is using this method in response to the changing customer-buying behaviour that is going towards online and mobile-based solutions due to their convenience and flexibility [...]

Dubai Bank chiefs seek review of bail terms after spending nights in custody

Three directors of the collapsed Dubai Bank who are facing charges of money laundering have spent two nights in custody after failing to secure Sh50 million bond or a Sh10 million cash bail each [...]

Kenya Power loans surge to Sh111.6bn

Distribution and transmission firm Kenya Power’s borrowings rose 60 per cent in the financial year ended June to stand at a massive Sh111.6 billion, owed to lenders ranging from multilateral institutions to Equity and Standard Chartered (StanChart) banks. The company took the increased debt in order to fulfil its pledge to add 814,000 customers to the national grid by the end of 2017 [...]

AGM okeys Kenya Power’s new high speed Internet unit

Kenya Power is set to start connecting Internet users to its fibre optic network in a move that could shake a market that is dominated by three telecommunication companies. This new venture will be carried out by Kenya Power International Limited, a new subsidiary established to handle the firm’s telecommunications business including its fibre optic footprint [...]

Nakumatt’s profit drops to Sh305m after high costs

Nakumatt Holdings, Kenya’s largest retailer, recorded a huge profit drop in the financial year ended February due to high financing costs, a new rating report shows [...]

State is scheming to shut down our operations, claims Keroche

Beer-maker Keroche Breweries has claimed in court that the taxman’s refusal to renew its licence for the 2015 to 2016 financial year is part of a scheme by the government to unlawfully shut down its operations. Keroche says the State has opted to unlawfully use the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to effect its closure after failing to find any fault in the brewer’s operations [...]

UAE to Kenya funds transfer cost falls 38pc

The cost of sending money to Kenya from the United Arabs Emirates (UAE) has dropped 38.8 per cent after a cash transfer firm, Express Money, cut its fees to eight sub-Saharan countries. The cost of sending money to Kenya from the United Arabs Emirates (UAE) has dropped 38.8 per cent after a cash transfer firm, Express Money, cut its fees to eight sub-Saharan countries [...]