KQ eyes rebound with McKinsey turn-around plan
Kenya Airways (KQ) will be hoping to calm headwinds that pummelled its business as it seeks to rebound from record losses and turn around a negative equity position that saw the Senate call for the sacking of its top managers […]
Helios earns record profit in timely Equity stake sale
Helios Investment Partners’ sale of 24.99 per cent stake in Equity Holdings this year saw the private equity (PE) firm make one of the biggest profits in an equity investment in Kenya. Helios sold its stake at $500 million (Sh51 billion), thus earning a nominal capital gain of Sh40 billion on the Sh11 billion it paid in December 2007 to acquire the stake. The PE firm also collected dividends totalling Sh6.5 billion from Equity, taking its total return on the investment to 422 per cent or 23 per cent compounded annually […]
Insurance firms sound profit alerts as stock market bear run hits hard
The ongoing bear market has seen insurers with heavy exposure at the stock market record significant unrealised losses which are set to hurt their performance this year. The earnings drop could lead to reduced dividends for investors, who have seen their paper wealth fall as the insurers’ stocks also took a hit from the expected profit drop […]
Treasury makes Sh9bn third payment for Eurobond interest
The Treasury last week paid Sh9.1 billion as the third interest instalment for the Eurobond as yields in the secondary market remained high over local political controversy. The five-year bond attracts a 5.875 per cent interest while the 10-year has 6.875 per cent return. The debut Sh200 billion Eurobond was issued in June last year with the government tapping an additional $750 million (Sh75 billion) in December through a secondary issue […]
Treasury’s nine-year infrastructure bond sale lags behind Sh16bn target
The Treasury’s nine-year infrastructure bond tap sale was lagging behind target four days to today’s closure date with only Sh6 billion raised out of the targeted Sh16 billion. The second tranche of the bond has been on sale since December 15, looking to raise the Sh16 billion shortfall in the bond issue that in total targets to raise Sh30 billion for energy, roads and water projects […]
Rising food, commodity prices push December inflation to 8.01pc
Rising food, beer and cigarette prices helped push up inflation rate to a 16-month high, denying consumers the benefits of lower fuel and electricity costs. The cost of living measure has shot past Central Bank of Kenya’s preferred ceiling of 7.5 per cent. Treasury enforced the Excise Duty Act in December 1, allowing KRA to […]
Cytonn Investments causes a storm in the real estate sector
Cytonn Investments has embarked on a series of real estate projects confounding sceptics who doubted the company’s initial valuation of Sh1.1 billion. The real-estate arm of the firm – Cytonn Real Estate – started off with Amara Ridge, a gated community construction project in Karen, Nairobi. The high-end houses are being put up on a five-acre piece of land. Cytonn Investments headed by Edwin Dande[…]
Construction and agriculture power GDP growth to 5.8pc
Economic growth surged to 5.8 per cent in the third quarter ended September compared to 5.2 per cent in the same period last year, reflecting robust activity in agriculture and construction sectors but indicating that the expansion rate could fall short of the Treasury’s annual target […]