Home Afrika pays high premium after investors shun bond

Buyers of Home Afrika’s corporate bond have re-priced the interest rate on the securities to 17 per cent, significantly raising the real estate developer’s finance costs from the initial coupon rate of 13.5 per cent.At 17 per cent, the interest rate is the highest of all the corporate bonds currently listed on the NSE by Kenyan companies.This reflects investors’ relatively high risk perception of Home Afrika’s debt instruments [...]

BAT says it will continue to buy farmers’ tobacco

British American Tobacco (BAT) Kenya says it will continue contracting farmers to grow the crop despite the industry’s gloomy outlook.The scaling down in the local tobacco business is expected to hit contracted farmers in Migori County the hardest. BAT Kenya, who also export cured leaf, has been up against tough regulations emanating from the Health ministry that have pushed other processors out of the market [...]

Centum’s Mworia takes Ciano NSE board position

The notice for the AGM dated April 14, 2015 had indicated Mr Ciano was up for election but the former Uchumi chief said that since he no longer represented a public company, he chose not to seek another term on the board of the bourse. Mworia was elected to the board at the demutualised company’s 61st annual general meeting (AGM) held in Nairobi [...]

CBA current accounts to attract interest

Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) has started paying interest to personal current account holders underlining the growing competition for deposits in the banking sector.The accounts do not normally attract interest payment from bankers given their volatility.The interest rate applicable on the current accounts will be tiered depending on the amount saved in each account and personal banking customers will be rewardedup to a maximum of 2 per cent per annum [...]

Eight global hotel chains target Kenyan entry

Eight international hotel chains plan to open shop in Kenya by end year. A report by W Hospitality Group says the hotels are expected to grow the country’s bed space by 1,510.The Kenyan hotel scene is primed for expansion as global brands and local investors look to capture the growing number of business travellers. According to the report, Kenya recorded the largest growth in planned hotels on the continent at 100 per cent followed by Uganda at 90 per cent [...]

NBK suspends chief finance officer linked to Mumias Sugar scam

The National Bank of Kenya (NBK) has suspended its chief finance officer who is linked to the gross mismanagement at sugar miller Mumias, where he held a similar position.The suspended CFO, 48, held the job at the sugar miller until August 2013 after which he resigned to take up a similar position at NBK the next month following the restructuring of the lender’s executive suite [...]