We deliver a summary of important business news in Kenya to you this morning:

AfDB approves US$148 million credit for Equity Bank

The statement from the African Development Bank (AfDB) on Thursday said the credit is expected to further leverage Equity Bank's capacity to deepen its lending activities to vital economic sectors such as manufacturing, agribusiness, transportation, financial services, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), telecommunications, construction and energy. [...]

Kenya Proposes Scrapping Foreign Investors’ Caps on Stocks

Kenya may allow foreign investors to hold all shares in some companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) and lower capital requirements for stockbrokers, according to the market’s regulator. Non-Kenyans can currently hold as much as 75% of publicly traded companies. [...]

General Electric to start building 100 MW wind farm next year

General Electric (GE) will start building a 100 MW wind power farm in Kenya early next year. The GE Distributed Power business leader in Sub-Saharan Africa George Njenga told reporters on Thursday that the legal procedures for the $300 million (Sh26.7 billion) project for the Kipeto Wind Farm will be completed after 18 months. [...]

Power prices fall further as fuel levy hits four-year low

Data from the Energy Regulatory Commission shows fuel cost adjustment, which is linked to the amount of power generated from diesel-driven generators, dropped to KES 3.47 per kilowatt hour (kWh) for bills to be settled at the end of the month from KES 4.79 in October and KES 7.22 in August. At KES 3.47, the fuel surcharge – which is responsible for steep electricity bills – is trading at levels last seen in October 2010. [...]

Kenyans getting overcharged for air travel, hence dampening growth of local tourism

Air travel agencies are under the spotlight after a new report revealed that they are overcharging Kenyans for both domestic and international flights, consequently depressing local tourism.

New York-based research firm Millward Brown carried out the research in October and found that some Kenyan agencies are charging more than double their rivals’ prices. The routes mostly affected were Malindi, Lamu and Kisumu – the first two being popular holiday destinations for domestic and international tourists. [...]