Barclays starts trading at NSE with its revived investment unit

Barclays Bank has re-activated its investment banking business on growing demand for brokerage services especially from foreign investors. The Barclays Financial Services will offer a whole suit of services such as advisory on mergers and acquisitions, debt, equity issues and stock brokerage. The move came as its parent company, Barclays Plc, said it was slashing a 1,000 jobs from its investment banking globally [...]

Eveready narrows loss to Sh78m on lower plant closure costs

Battery distributor Eveready East Africa narrowed its net losses 56.2 per cent in the year ended September after booking lesser costs of shutting down its Nakuru factory in the period. Despite a huge paper gain following re-evaluation of the property of the closed Nakuru plant, Eveready did not declare a dividend [...]

Tale of TransCentury CEO exit, Sh8bn debt and Kibaki-era tycoons

Last week’s sudden resignation of TransCentury’s long-serving chief executive Gachao Kiuna is being seen as the initial consequence of a debt storm that is looming over the company — threatening to wipe out the shareholders’ investment. To put the debt crisis in perspective, the Sh8 billion owed through the five-year bond is more than three times TransCentury’s market capitalisation. Adding forex losses — the dollar has gained 27.5 per cent since TransCentury issued the bond in June 2011 — the debt balloons to over Sh10 billion [...]

Family Bank CEO Peter Munyiri to end five-year tenure in June

Family Bank has announced the impending exit of chief executive Peter Munyiri in June, marking the end of a five-year tenure at the mid-tier lender for the career banker. Family Bank CEO Peter Munyiri has given notice of his intention to leave in June, when his current contract expires [...]

Telcos set for big boost in Sh1.5bn rural tenders

The government is set to advertise for ICT project tenders worth Sh1.5 billion to supply equipment and connect remote and under-served areas of the country. The projects will include voice and broadband coverage in identified access gap areas. Telecoms operators pay an equivalent of 0.5 per cent of their annual turnover, with the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) contributing 25 per cent of its surplus revenue to the fund [...]

Choppies’ Ukwala takeover bid gets boost as KRA ends tax case

Botswana retailer Choppies Enterprises’ bid to acquire Ukwala Supermarkets received a major boost following the withdrawal of a High Court case that had put the Sh1 billion plan on ice. The two have now opted to settle the dispute out of court, a move that has given a new lease of life to Choppies’ bid [...]

CBK tells Imperial Bank owners to deposit Sh10bn pledge

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has asked Imperial Bank shareholders to deposit Sh10 billion as a pre-condition for opening dialogue on their pledge for re-opening the lender. Imperial Bank shareholders last week said they were willing to inject Sh10 billion fresh capital into the collapsed bank to allow for its re-opening [...]

CBK to revise bank interest-setting formula

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) said it is developing a new formula for setting the minimum lending rate for commercial banks even as it threatens action on big banks for overcharging borrowers. Governor Njoroge says large banks are using their size to ride roughshod on customers. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to disregard the formula which would have pushed the standard base lending rate, Kenya Banks Reference Rate (KBRR), to 10.78 per cent from current 9.87 per cent to ensure stability in the money markets [...]