BAT calls whistleblower a ‘rogue’ ex-staff

Cigarette manufacturer British American Tobacco (BAT) has described its former employee who blew the whistle on bribery at the company as a “rogue” individual who has an axe to grind with the firm. Mr Paul Hopkins leaked hundreds of secret documents to a BBC editorial team implicating BAT [...]

Senate recommends sacking KQ managers, bailout

The Senate committee investigating troubled national carrier Kenya Airways has made the sacking of top managers of the airline a pre-condition for a possible bailout by taxpayers. The recommendations came after four months of probing into the affairs of the airline, during which the Senate committee was critical of the strategies pursued by the airline’s management team led by Titus Naikuni [...]

Prudential Kenya replaces its CEO

London-listed insurer Prudential has replaced the chief executive of its Kenyan unit a year after acquiring distressed Shield Assurance. The British firm said Charles Mang’ee, who was CEO of Shield Assurance since February 2014 — now renamed Prudential Life Assurance Kenya — had left office but will continue working as a senior adviser [...]

Kenyan shilling steady on weak dollar demand

Commercial banks posted the shilling at 102.05/15, barely changed from Friday closing rate of 102.10/20. Shilling usually faces greater pressure towards the end of the month when companies have to pay import and other bills. The shilling should gain slightly as end-month dollar demand gets out of the way (later this week) [...]

Central Bank says it's open to foreign banks despite licensing ban

Kenya is still open to foreign investment in its banking industry despite a moratorium imposed on issuing new licences as stated by Central Bank of Kenya Governor Patrick Njoroge. He added that East Africa’s biggest economy needs stronger supervision in banking, which has resulted in the temporary ban on licences [...]

Foreign investment in Kenya falls 37 per cent to Sh225 billion

Foreign direct investment (FDI) to Kenya fell by 37 per cent last year, making the country the 10th most popular African destination for global capital. Kenya recorded $2.2 billion (Sh225 billion) in capital investments in 2014, down from $3 billion (Sh306.8 billion) in 2013. Egypt emerged the top destination for FDIs to Africa. Nigeria closed the top three group [...]

Electricity prices to stabilise as KenGen ups hydro generation following heavy rains

KenGen has enhanced output from hydro with the current heavy rains filling up the country’s major generating dams at the Seven Forks in eastern Kenya. The power producer said all the dams in the cascade have attained their spilling levels [...]

Depositors of Kenya's Imperial Bank to start getting money back

Kenya's central bank said on Wednesday almost 90 percent of depositors in Imperial Bank (IBL), which was taken into receivership in October because of fraud, would get their money back in full, with payments starting in a few weeks. The depositors will access their cash via KCB Group and Diamond Trust Bank [...]

Central bank governor Patrick Njoroge sees inflation starting to fall

Kenya's inflation rate is likely to start falling when heavy rains stop as indicated by the central bank on Wednesday. Last month, year-on-year inflation rose to its highest level in 15 months, at 7.32 percent, after prices of some foodstuffs shot up [...]