Bond failure and project delays hit Home Afrika’s profit

Property developer Home Afrika has announced a 90 per cent drop in profit last year, attributing it to project delays after the firm’s Sh900 million bond issue failed. The bond flop saw the company turn to bankers taking a loan of Sh500 million, leading to delay in funding projects that would have propped up its earnings in the period [...]

High operating costs hurt Crown Paints’ net profit

High operating expenses, including marketing costs, pulled down Crown Paints’ net profit in the year ended December by 91 per cent to Sh19.7 million compared to Sh213.8 million the year before. Crown Paints’ revenues jumped 17 per cent to Sh6 billion, underlining the impact of the high operating costs that saw its net margins drop to 0.3 per cent from 4.1 per cent. The increased marketing effort is aimed at boosting sales of the regional subsidiaries [...]

KQ now seeks rich partner, ditches Dreamliners

Cash-strapped Kenya Airways has initiated talks with an airline from the Middle East in a bid to raise cash in exchange for equity. This is said to be part of new measures the airline hopes will boost its struggle to get out of its current financial crisis. Sources within the company say that the national carrier has abandoned midway its multi-billion project for the purchase of new Dreamliner jets. . It is estimated that the airline would require about Sh18 billion to get out of the red [...]

Mbaru drops off list of top TransCentury owners

Businessman Jimnah Mbaru has exited the list of TransCentury’s top owners, marking the second time a significant founder shareholder of the investment firm has dropped from its list of major investors. February regulatory filings show that Mr Jimnah Mbaru had traded 9.4 million shares equivalent to a 3.3 per cent stake he previously held in the company. Other founders, including Eddy Njoroge, Mr Ndung’u Gathinji and Zeph Mbugua, have also sold part of their shares in multiple trades over the past few years [...]

CDSC partners with Nigeria, Bermuda clearing firms

The Central Depository and Settlement Corporation (CDSC) has partnered with two firms to form settlements firm Africlear Global. Africlear is a joint venture with Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) of Nigeria and the Altree Financial Group, a Bermuda-based financial company doubling as a broker for international clients investing in sub-Saharan Africa.  The new company is expected to provide new income for the investors and reduce transaction costs for clearing houses through efficient after-trade processing [...]

CBK licenses third credit information sharing firm

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has licensed a third firm to offer loan information-sharing services. Creditinfo Credit Reference Bureau Kenya Ltd joins Credit Reference Bureau Africa Ltd and Metropol Credit Reference Bureau Ltd which were licensed in February 2010 and April 2011, respectively. The bureaus receive, collate, compile and share with authorised users details of borrowers’ histories from approved data sources [...]

IMF says Kenyan motorists enjoying better fuel price cuts

Kenyan motorists have benefited well from lower global crude oil prices compared to other sub-Sahara African (SSA) countries, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report show [...]

Kenya proposes rules to require local stake in oil exploration firms

Kenya has proposed rules requiring oil exploration firms to give local investors a five per cent stake and use local suppliers and staff for their services to get a bigger share of earnings from the new sector. Rules which give the investors a 5pc stake is expected to be passed by August along with a revised petroleum bill [...]