Bamburi earns Sh1bn from cement supplies to rail contractor

Bamburi Cement says it has earned Sh1 billion from supply of cement to the standard gauge railway (SGR) contractor, making it one of the biggest gainers from the ongoing construction of the Mombasa-Nairobi line. Bamburi is among local firms contracted by a Chinese contractor to supply materials for the Sh327 billion project [...]

Liberty alert leaves 2 NSE insurers in profit growth zone

Only two listed insurers are now yet to issue profit alerts after Liberty Holdings warned its profit would fall by at least 25 per cent at the weekend, making 2015 one of the worst years in the industry’s history. CIC and Jubilee Holdings are the only insurers yet to issue a profit warning arising from a sustained bear run at the NSE where most insurance firms are heavily invested. Liberty Holdings declaration pushed the number of traded firms that have announced an expected sharp drop in earnings to 18 [...]

Stanlib finalises Donholm’s Greenspan Mall purchase

Stanlib Investments has concluded purchase of Nairobi’s Greenspan Mall and has its eyes on other properties. Stanlib had identified the mall as the main property for its listed Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) offered to the public two months ago [...]

Tea prices fall 5pc as volumes increase by two million kilos

Tea prices dipped five per cent in last week’s auction as the quantities offered for sale rose by two million kilogrammes. On average, a kilogramme of the beverage fetched Sh251 last week, down from Sh263 in the previous sale. Volumes offered at the Mombasa auction grew to 11 million kilogrammes compared to nine million kilos in the previous trading[...]

NSE chief targets derivatives trading from early March

Trading in derivatives at the Nairobi Securities Exchange will kick off in the first week of March, chief executive officer Geoffrey Odundo has said. The NSE plans to start with index, single stock and currency futures in its market, which is modelled on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) Derivatives Market. Derivatives are financial instruments that investors use to hedge against risk and consist of futures, options, swaps and forward contracts [...]

Limuru Tea loses Sh200 as plantation stocks bleed

The agriculture stocks of Limuru Tea and Kapchorua Tea were the biggest losers in the stock market last week as small-cap counters ceded some of the gains made in the previous weeks. Limuru lost over Sh200 as Kapchorua shed 18.8 per cent or Sh38 last week to close at [...]

EABL shuts down South Sudan depot after currency losses

Beer maker East African Breweries (EABL) has closed its South Sudan depot after the business posted huge currency losses resulting from devaluation and sustained political instability in the country. EABL last year shut its facility in Juba, opting to supply the market through distributors and sales teams from Nairobi. Businesses in South Sudan have been hit hard by inaccessibility of US dollars, the predominant trading currency in the country. EABL’s multinational competitor, SABMiller, is preparing to shut down its brewery next month [...]