Kenya Re profit hits Sh3bn on new business growth

Kenya Reinsurance registered a 12.4 per cent growth in net profit on the back of an increase in net premiums and higher investment income. Kenya Re's profit stood at Sh3.1 billion in the year ended December 31, 2014 while its net earned premiums rose by 20.2 per cent, pointing to a robust operating year both in Kenya and elsewhere in Africa where it does business [...]

Kenya Power eyes Sh1bn in county fibre optic cables expansion

Electricity distributor Kenya Power plans to extend its fibre optic cable connections to cover all counties as it seeks to quadruple its earnings from the new revenue stream to Sh1 billion by the end of next year. Kenya Power said it would by May pick a contractor to supply and install 1,300km of high-speed Internet wires along its electricity lines to expand on the existing 1,800km. The firm has since 2010 fixed about 1,800km of optical fibre along its high-voltage power lines, traversing through 24 of Kenya’s 47 counties [...]

Oriental Bank owners cede control to investor

Shareholders of Oriental Commercial Bank are set to surrender majority ownership to a strategic investor for an undisclosed amount. The transaction, revealed in a notice published on Friday, gives the new investors access to one of the most profitable sectors of the economy going by 2014 performance figures announced by the lenders [...]

Mauritius’ Seruji sells 60pc stake in Savannah Cement

Savannah Heights, a shareholding company of cement maker Savannah Cement, has taken full control of the Athi River-based manufacturer after buying out Mauritian firm Seruji’s 60 per cent majority stake. Seruji held majority shares of Savannah Cement until December, which it had acquired after buying out Chinese firms Wan-Ho International Holding (40 per cent) and Acme Cement (20 per cent). The buyout comes ahead of a planned $250 million (Sh23 billion) clinker plant construction in Athi River by the manufacturer, which aims to reduce its operating costs by eliminating importation of the key raw material [...]

Ombudsman now takes on insurance cartel in court

The Office of the Ombudsman has filed an anti-trust suit at the High Court against the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA), seeking to quash a 2009 directive which he says has paved the way for a few insurance companies to control the majority share of clients. The IRA effected the new prices in March 2011 through a circular that prescribed a minimum amount that firms can charge clients seeking vehicle cover. The Ombudsman holds that the price cap has given an unfair advantage to the bigger market players [...]

Pension firm forms brokerage unit with eye on county staff

Pension fund manager CPF Financial Services (formerly Local Authority Pension Trust - Laptrust) has started offering insurance services after opening a brokerage subsidiary targeting county workers. The firm that boasts Sh27 billion worth of assets under management is planning to concentrate on offering microinsurance products in areas like health, agriculture, investments and employment cover [...]

Tea prices drop at Mombasa auction as buyers rush to dispose of excess stocks

Tea prices have dropped by Sh8 a kilo or three per cent at the Mombasa auction in the most recent sales as buyers rush to release their stocks for fear of a fall in prices in the coming days. Buyers argue that the rains that have started and the onset of summer next month in major export markets will increase volumes and suppress the demand of tea, driving down the price. The move has reversed the trend of high prices that the auction has been witnessing in the last two months, threatening farmers’ expectations of a good bonus at the end of the year [...]