Airtel sets flat roaming tariff for16 African countries

Airtel has introduced a flat rate tariff for its Kenya subscribers travelling to 16 countries in Africa in which it has presence, reducing the cost of making roaming calls by between 85 and 32.4 per cent. Airtel’s customers visiting these countries will now make calls back to Kenya at Sh35 down from Sh227.30 per minute and Sh12 from the previous Sh37 for making calls from Kenya to any of these countries [...]

Large depositors gain from high interest rates as cash crunch bites

Large depositors are cashing in on the prevailing high interest rates as scarcity of cash in the economy fuels stiff competition between the government and bankers. Commercial Banks are offering as high as 20 per cent on deposits, matching the government returns for Treasury bills and bonds in an attempt to encourage larger depositors to opt for them instead of lending to the Treasury [...]

Sukuk bond issue to await law change

The Treasury must change the Banking Act before it issues a Sukuk bond, a factor likely to hold up the issue of an Islamic paper whose proceeds will be used to clear a syndicated loan the government is in the process of procuring. Kenya is targeting to raise cash from the oil-rich Middle East countries through the Islamic bond. The Treasury plans to establish a National Sharia Supervisory Council to advise on development of products that are compliant with the Sharia law [...]

Uhuru orders lifestyle audit for KRA staff

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) employees will be subjected to lifestyle audits as part of fresh efforts to stop rampant corruption in the agency that costs the State billions of shillings in revenue leakages. This comes in the wake of KRA’s failure to meet its revenue targets in the first quarter (July- September) of the current fiscal year that Treasury has partly blamed for the biting cash crisis in government [....]

German insurance giant Allianz to open Nairobi office

A German-based insurance conglomerate is set to open a subsidiary in Nairobi, becoming the latest foreign underwriter to venture into the country. Allianz on Wednesday announced that it is preparing to open an office in Kenya. It described the Kenyan market as “fast-developing”. It follow the footsteps of foreign insurers like Saham Finances, Old Mutual and Swiss Re who have recently invested locally through mergers and acquisitions [...]

Land and house prices to rise despite the lure of high yielding Treasury bills

Land and house prices will continue rising despite surging interest rates luring investors to Treasury bills, bonds and fixed income deposits, property consultancy Hass Consult has said. Land prices in Nairobi’s 18 suburbs had increased by 10.5 per cent between September 2014 and last month.  House prices, however, posted lower returns of 8.3 per cent over the same period. The returns on land and houses in Nairobi and its satellite towns are lower than the latest Treasury Bill which had a 20 per cent coupon rate [...]