KenolKobil eyes higher revenue with Sh1.5bn Nairobi office block

KenolKobil is set to build a Sh1.5 billion office block in Nairobi’s central business district to serve as its new headquarters besides generating rental income. The 22-storey building will be located on a one-acre parcel of land near the Parliament round-about. It is part of the company’s renewed investments that it is betting on to grow earnings in the competitive oil marketing business. The office block will enable the company to move its head office operations from the rented space at ICEA Building [...]

EIB pushed from second place in stock trading

SBG Securities has displaced Equity Investment Bank (EIB) from the second position in stock sales over the three months ended September 30 amid stiff competition for market share. Equity Investment Bank's market share shrunk by 2.2 percentage points to 13.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter following reduced activity by shareholders of its parent company, Equity Bank. The slip allowed SBG Securities, owned by CFC Stanbic, to overtake it with a 13.8 per cent market share. Kestrel Capital remained at the top of the ladder having handled 15.9 per cent of sales made at the exchange [...]

Dyer & Blair tip Safaricom to improve profit, offer price target

Investors should buy Safaricom shares when the price dips below Sh14.45, analysts at Dyer and Blair Investment Bank have recommended in a note to clients. On Wednesday, the share was traded at an average Sh14.30 — which is 18 per cent higher compared to 12 months ago.The analysts said their recommendation is based on the financial performance forecast for October 2015 to March 2016, which is the second half of the year for the company [...]

Moody’s sees Kenya, Uganda oil plans stall on low prices of oil

Construction of oil pipelines, terminals and other supporting infrastructure is unlikely to take off any time soon if the low price of the commodity on the international market persists, rating agency Moody’s has said. Moody’s annual Global Sovereign Outlook says the low prices on the international market will delay projects in both Kenya and Uganda. The fall in the price of oil was expected to benefit consumers but Moody’s report said possible gains will be eroded due to the strengthening of the dollar and its impact on local economies [...]

Overseas loans, cash deposits reduce banks’ net foreign assets

Growth in overseas loans to local banks reduced the value of their net foreign assets in the year ending June compared to the previous year when the assets grew. Cash liabilities deposited in local banks by foreigners to settle locally-generated transactions also rose in the same period to push down the value of the institutions’ net foreign assets (NFA), which indicates the amount of assets less liabilities to foreigners in local banks [...]

Prime Bank’s 9-month profit rises to Sh1.5bn

Prime Bank’s net profits for the third quarter 2015 rose 15 per cent to stand at Sh1.5 billion, up from Sh1.3 billion posted over a similar period last year. The bank attributed the rise to loan book growth of 31 per cent to Sh42 billion from Sh32 billion over a similar period [...]