Family Bank gets nod to issue Sh10bn bond in expansion plans

Family Bank has received approval to issue a Sh10 billion bond as it seeks to fund its expansion plan. The mid-sized lender targets to issue the first tranche of the bond at the end of this month to support a fast-growing loan book…[...]

EABL now goes for the bottom with 300ml Tusker, Pilsner bottles

Beer maker East African Breweries Limited (EABL) will launch 300ml and 330ml bottles for its Tusker and Pilsner beer brands targeting lower-income consumers. The regional brewer is piloting the new 330ml Tusker and Pilsner 300ml in several down-market bars across the country ahead of an official launch mid-November…[...]

Jambojet posts Sh287m loss in first year of operation

Budget airline Jambojet posted a Sh287 million loss in its first year of operation, Kenya Airways has revealed. KQ had also booked a Sh118 million loss associated with Jambojet last year attributed to the amount used to finance the setting up of the low-cost carrier…[...]

Deloitte says KQ ignored warning on open sky policy

National carrier Kenya Airways’ management ignored consulting firm Deloitte’s warning that the open sky policy would not favour its ambitious Project Mawingu. The airline rolled out the 10-year plan in 2011 with the intention of positioning Nairobi as a hub for flights from the East, notably China and India.…[...]

UK’s ban on miraa costs Kenya Airways Sh500m

National carrier Kenya Airways lost half a billion shillings in the wake of the UK government’s ban on khat (miraa) trade, pushing the struggling airline into deeper loss. KQ, as the airline is popularly known, made the revelation in its latest financial report…[...]

Local owners hold 58pc of Equity on Helios sale of stake

The recent sale of a 24 per cent stake in Equity Bank by UK private equity fund Helios Partners has left local and East African investors holding 58 per cent of the bank, firmly making the lender a local institution. This level was last attained in December 2011 and the bank has since verged on foreign ownership…[...]

PwC pulls out of Tatu City offshore accounts probe

Consultancy firm PriceWaterHouseCoopers (PwC) has declined to investigate offshore loan accounts of real- estate development firm Tatu City following an intensified tussle between the multibillion- shilling project’s local and foreign partners. PwC on Wednesday told Justice Eric Ogola that the vicious battle between foreign shareholders Rendeavour and their local partners Nahashon Nyagah and Vimal Shah has stalled a planned audit that the judge ordered in May…[...]

Total Kenya appoints French national as chairman

Total Kenya Limited has appointed Jean-Christian Bergeron, a French national as chairman of the board. He takes over from Jonathan Molapo, a South African national who has resigned from the position he has held since September 2013…[...]

Airtel enters fibre deal with Liquid Telecom

Bharti Airtel’s mobile broadband subscribers in Africa will soon enjoy faster Internet access speeds on its networks. This follows an announcement that Airtel will use Liquid Telecom’s terrestrial fibre network to connect its mobile base stations and enterprises…[...]

Kenya’s Debt-ridden sugar millers to be privatised within five months

The country’s five debt-riddled sugar millers are to be privatised within the next five months, Privatisation Commission Chairman Henry Obwocha has said. The announcement comes after the Government promised to clear the debts the State-owned millers owe cane farmers. Nzoia Sugar Company has the highest debt at Sh29 billion, with Sony Sugar on the lower end at Sh1.2 billion…[...]