KQ stock dips 30 per cent as airline flies into turbulent times

Kenya Airways has shed 30 per cent over the past two months reverting to a Sh7.75 low on a series of negative corporate reports, erasing price gains made between November last year and February 2015 [...]

Wrigley ups stake with Sh5.8 billion chewing gum plant

Multinational chewing gum manufacturer Wrigley Company has broken ground for a new Sh5.8 billion factory in Mavoko as it aims to double its production capacity and cement its leading position in the market. International places Wrigley East Africa as the market leader in Kenya’s chewing gum industry with a 75 per cent market share [...]

Ex-Blackwater reaps from Phoenix Aviation takeover

Phoenix Aviation accounted for a fifth of Frontier Services Group (FSG) revenues in five months of 2014. FSG, chaired by Blackwater founder Erik Prince, said its newly acquired Phoenix Aviation last year earned Sh787.4 million in revenues equivalent to 21 per cent of Sh3.7 billion group revenues [...]

Ex-Britam chiefs Cytonn offer values company at Sh1.1bn

Cytonn Investments, a Kenyan-owned firm, has concluded a private placement offer that valued the company at Sh1.1 billion. The company sold “more than” 10 per cent of its stake to high net-worth investors. The firm, founded by former British American investments (Britam) top executives, opened the private placement offer in February that concluded on March 31 [...]

Pancontinental withdraws from Mombasa oil block

Australia’s Pancontinental has exited its stake in an offshore block located near Mombasa County. The oil and gas firm told Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) it would no longer participate in Block L10B as it found it financially prudent to concentrate on its partly owned Block L10A [...]

Cloud data storage firm bets on pricing to woo users

A local cloud data storage firm Angani Limited is betting on hourly pricing of its services to get a piece of a market that is still largely untapped. Founded in June 2013, Angani now joins the list of firms that have shown interest in this sector including IBM, Microsoft, Safaricom and SEACOM through its subsidiary Pamoja Services [...]

High premiums lift Liberty insurance earnings to Sh1.14bn

Insurance firm Liberty Kenya posted a 3.8 per cent rise in net profit for the year ended December 2014, helped by increased premiums. The insurance firm said the higher expenses were driven by investment in technology and distribution, noting that these capital expenditures are expected to pay off in the coming years [...]

Safaricom cracks down on subscribers in airtime fraud

Thousands of Safaricom subscribers are under police radar for their involvement in a multi-million-shilling airtime theft that took place last month. One suspect has been charged with breaking into the Safaricom's computers and stealing an undisclosed amount of airtime credit. About 10,000 Safaricom subscribers who bought the stolen airtime at half price face a charge of handling stolen property [...]

Kenyan farmers threaten to delay planting over Sh1 billion payment

Maize farmers in North Rift have warned they may be forced to delay planting and cause a drop in food production unless National Treasury releases Sh1 billion towards payment of part of last season’s deliveries. They said delay by the Government to release funds to the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) depots could affect efforts to plant early as heavy rains start pounding the region [...]