Investor losses hit Sh120bn as NSE falls to two-year low

Local investors have been cautious when buying shares of the risk of getting locked into higher buying prices at a time the market is on a downward trend. This means the market has been denied an important source of demand to counterbalance the selling being done by foreign investors, who have recorded five straight weeks of net sales. The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has fallen to a two-year low under selling pressure as investors across the board lost Sh120 billion to the market bear…[...]

Kenya to ink lucrative deals with US ahead of summit

Kenya is expected to sign multi-billion shilling pacts with the US ahead of the two-day Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) that opens in Nairobi on Saturday. Foreign Affairs secretary Amina Mohamed said on Thursday most of the deals would target infrastructure and health sectors as well as cooperation in taxation and emigration…[...]

GE plans Sh1.3bn Nairobi healthcare training centre

US multinational General Electric is set to commission a Sh1.3 billion healthcare training school in Karen, Nairobi that is scheduled to open by end of the year. GE, which is also undertaking key energy projects in the country, says it will install X-ray, mammography and ultrasound machines, among others, at the facility which it expects to be operational by November…[...]

Price of tea hits new high amid shrinking volumes

The price of tea at the Mombasa auction has registered a new high amid rising demand for the commodity as volumes shrink. A kilogramme of the popular beverage fetched Sh314 on Tuesday compared to Sh309 in the previous day’s auction. The East African Tea Traders Association (EATTA) has attributed the rising price to increased demand from buyers who are jostling for limited stocks due to declining yields and supply…[...]

 KWFT members acquire 25pc stake of micro-lender

The Kenya Women Holding (KWH) has ceded shares worth Sh1.5 billion of its micro-finance subsidiary to its members, bringing it in line with Central Bank’s regulatory requirements. KWH says it has sold 25 per cent of its stake in Kenya Women’s Finance Trust (KWFT) to 60,974 members and another five per cent to founder directors of the lender. The Central Bank of Kenya limits banks and other financial institutions to owning a quarter stake or less in deposit-taking microfinance (DTM) institutions…[...]

Safaricom battles rival for right to Okoa Stima name

Telecommunications company Safaricom has told the court that the contested Okoa Stima name is not registered as a trademark by the Kenya Industrial Property Institute and therefore using it in its electricity token credit business does not infringe on anyone’s rights. Information technology (IT) services firm Colour Planet has sued Safaricom over use of the name, claiming that it developed the software from 2012 and that the alleged infringement has watered down the quality of its trademark…[...]

Kenya picked to host Hilton’s second ‘airport hotel’ outlet in Africa

New York Stock Exchange-listed company Hilton Worldwide has announced it has signed a franchise agreement with Reliance Hotels to open Hilton Garden Inn hotel at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. The hotel becomes the 12th Hilton Garden Inn property under development in Africa, and is expected to open in early 2016…[...]

NIC and Safaricom sign pact to fund M-Pesa agents

NIC Bank has entered into a strategic partnership with Safaricom to enable M-Pesa dealers and agents banking with it to access float around-the-clock and in real time, through the bank’s online and mobile banking platforms…[...]

Equity picked as GES sponsor and banker

Equity Bank will be the official GES banker this weekend at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES). The bank will offer delegates end-to-end banking solutions at all GES locations. Equity Group Holdings Managing Director James Mwangi added that a number of executives from the firm would speak at the summit on Equity’s development models…[...]

Microfinancier, Real People, launches Sh2.5b bond to boost lending capacity

Real People, a credit only micro-finance institution has launched a Sh2.5 billion, five-year public bond, the first tranche of Sh5 billion Medium Term Notes issue, to boost the company's lending capacity as demand for its credit facilities increases. The bond offers both three and five year fixed and floating rate notes…[...]