Foreigners pull out cash from NSE for second time

A quarter two report by Standard Investment Bank shows the NSE had lost Sh3.2 billion in the first three months of the year.Foreigners were exiting the large caps in favour of the smaller players whose market price is believed to have headroom for growth.Foreign investors over the past three months withdrew a net Sh2.6 billion ($27.5 million) from Kenyan stocks in profit-taking and portfolio rebalancing that favoured Nigeria, marking the second consecutive quarter of outflows..[...]

KRA extends online tax returns filing deadline to end of Sunday

As at midnight last Tuesday, which was the deadline for filling the returns, KRA had managed to register approximately two million people through its newly installed iTax system.Many taxpayers have not been able to make online filings due to a system overload.The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has extended the period for tax returns to Sunday to allow those who did not meet the deadline comply…[...]

April mobile cash transfer down Sh18bn

The average value of transactions per subscriber fell as a result of the higher number of customers and the lower value of total transactions.The month-on-month value of mobile money transactions declined by Sh18.1 billion, despite the rise in subscriber numbers in April, to stand at Sh213.7 billion even as year-on-year value rose…[...]

Court suspends new tobacco regulations over violation of Constitution

High Court judge MumbiNgugi said Article 10 of the Constitution, which requires public participation in the matter, was not adhered to in coming up with the regulations.The High Court has suspended implementation of the new tobacco regulations, citing violation of the Constitution by the State…[...]

I&M Capital licensed to run funds

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has licensed I&M Capital, a subsidiary of I&M Bank, to operate as a fund manager.The approval brings the number of licensed fund managers in Kenya’s capital market to 24. A fund manager runs a collective investment scheme such as a unit trust, registered venture capital company, pensions or an investment adviser…[...]

UAE-based firm buys Essar Petrol

UAE-based Gulf Petrochem Group has acquired marketer Essar Petroleum East Africa and renamed it ASPAM Energy (Kenya). In a statement released on Thursday, Gulf Petroleum said the deal would improve its services and increase its supply of various oil products in East Africa.Gulf Petrochem Group said it had already secured approvals from the Energy Regulatory Commission and the Competition Commission of Kenya for the acquisition…[...]

Millers say doors open to regulator probe as they fight to shed cartel tag

Cereal Millers Association (CMA) has over the years fought the cartel tag that most consumers have pinned on the industry. That fight has more recently escalated with the Competition Authority of Kenya’s announcement that it had opened investigations into alleged price fixing with a view to taking action against the culprits…[...]

Heavy rains slow down Galana project

The Galana-Kulalu irrigation scheme is behind schedule as the Jubilee government was aiming to cover a million acres by 2017.A thousand acres of maize have been planted at the Galana-Kulalu irrigation scheme even as bad weather slowed down the mega-project.The National Irrigation Board (NIB) says it is aiming to plant up to 3,000 acres by September and to have covered all the 10,000 acres of the model one million-acre farm by December…[...]