India-based cement giant eyes Sh12.7bn majority ARM stake

India’s largest cement manufacturer UltraTech Cement is in the race to acquire a controlling stake in Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed ARM Cement, in which it could buy convertible preference shares of up to $125 million (Sh12.7 billion). UltraTech is said to be negotiating with ARM for the controlling stake in Kenya’s second-largest cement manufacturer after the French-owned Bamburi Cement [...]

Big value jump seen in bank, investment and insurance stocks

Bank, insurance and investment stocks at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) present the best bet for value appreciation this year given their price to earnings (P/E) ratios have fallen below the market average, analysts say. Bank stocks have seen double-digit share price drops as the segment took the brunt of the foreign investor sell-offs in the market [...]

Tea farmers’ Sh2.3bn deposits at risk with Imperial collapse

The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) had Sh2.3 billion in Imperial Bank at the time of its closure last November, putting tea growers in the list of big losers with the bank’s collapse. Their fate is now in the hands of the CBK and the Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation, who are expected to announce how they plan to deal with the large depositors. The disclosure of KTDA’s possible loss underlines the breadth of Imperial Bank’s collapse on different segments of the economy [...]

Safaricom drawn into dispute between solar firm and trader over M-Kopa name

Safaricom has been sucked into a dispute between pay-per-use solar energy provider M-Kopa and an import-export firm claiming exclusive rights to the trade name. Mkopa Investments has sued Safaricom, M-Kopa Solar and its parent firm Mobile Ventures Kenya Limited, claiming the firms have infringed on the trade name it has owned since December 1997 [...]

Centum set to cede shares in Two Rivers mall to Old Mutual

Centum Investment is Tuesday expected to announce the ceding of a significant stake in its flagship property development project Two Rivers Mall to Old Mutual Property. The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm has funded the multi-billion-shilling shopping complex through debt and selling equity to strategic investors. Its interest in the project, prior to the entry of Old Mutual, stands at 58.3 per cent [...]

Fastjet Mombasa route plan raises stakes for KQ

Fastjet has announced plans to introduce flights between Dar es Salaam and Mombasa later this year, marking yet another competition threat for national carrier Kenya Airways. The low-cost carrier, which on Monday launched flights from Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), also said it plans a Zanzibar-Nairobi flight by the end of the year [...]

Cytonn forecasts 6pc growth, spurred by pre-poll projects

Cytonn Investments forecasts the economy will grow by up to six per cent this year riding on implementation of infrastructure projects as national and county governments seek to impress the electorate in a pre-election year. Other sectors to drive the economy include real estate, wider electricity supply and revival of the tourism sector on the back of improved security, business travellers and local tourists [...]

Uhuru to open Sh4.8 billion English Point Marina Tuesday

President Uhuru Kenyatta will launch the Sh4.8 billion KCB-financed English Point Marina in Mombasa Tuesday over five years after it broke ground in 2010. East Africa’s first and only marina is built on four acres of land with an ocean view, a 26-room hotel, conferencing facility, a roof-top restaurant [...]