Express Kenya CEO Hector Diniz edges closer to owning 71 per cent of its shares

Hector Diniz is set to control 70.9 per cent of listed firm Express Kenya, where he is CEO, if a plan to convert a Sh60 million debt owed to his companies into equity is approved by regulator Capital Markets Authority (CMA). Express Kenya plans to convert a Sh60 million debt owed to Hector Diniz's companies into equity. This will see Mr Diniz issued with an additional 12 million shares at a premium Sh5 each compared to the current trading price of Sh4.30 per unit at the NSE [...]

Bidco to pay murdered staff family Sh1m compensation

Edible oils manufacturer Bidco has been ordered to pay Sh1.1 million to the family of a former worker suspected to have been murdered at its Thika plant 13 years ago [...]

WB faults Kenya on foreign stake cap of insurance shares

Kenya should remove the legal restriction on foreigners owning more than two-thirds of an insurance company, a new World Bank study on competition backed by national competition watchdog has recommended. A World Bank study recommends that should remove the restriction on foreigners owning more than two-thirds of an insurance firm. The study, which is supported by the CAK, says the 66.7 per cent cap hurts expansion of the local insurance sector [...]

Demand for treasuries cools off as market liquidity improves

Subscriptions for short-term government debt have declined hugely in December compared to the heavy demand seen in October and November as interest rates come down and liquidity improves, CBK data shows. The latest auctions of the 91, 182 and 364-day treasuries yielded Sh13.2 billion in total subscription against the target of Sh16 billion [...]

Chase Bank secures Sh3bn loan for green energy projects

Chase Bank has secured a Sh3 billion loan from the Global Climate Partnership Fund (GCPF) for environmental friendly energy projects. The funds will be used for small-scale renewable energy projects that are now popular as corporate look for alternatives to expensive power. Chase Bank said it had several high potential projects lined up and will start to disburse financing before the end of the month [...]

Uchumi ordered to pay Uganda suppliers Sh36m

A court has ordered Uchumi Supermarkets Uganda to pay more than Sh37.5 million (about USh1.2 billion) for recovery of unpaid supplies made to it between 2012 and 2015. The order came after one supplier, Zebu Emporium, sought orders against Uchumi for payment of lost income, loss of foreign exchange, general damages, breach of contract and costs incurred. In a separate case, the retailer has been sued for USh320 million by Trinity Textiles Uganda after it similarly failed to honour a payment agreement for electronic items supplied to its outlets [...]

CAK asks Airtel for evidence against Safaricom in mobile cash agents row

The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) has asked Airtel Kenya to provide evidence that Safaricom is violating an agreement that it brokered on the sharing of mobile money agents. Airtel last week wrote to Safaricom accusing it of coercing its mobile money transfer agents to remove Airtel branding from its shops and to stop offering Airtel Money services. Safaricom has denied the accusation, stressing that it has not given any go-ahead to its agents to remove Airtel’s logo from any premises [...]