New Kenyan law to ease revenue payments set for next year

Kenyans will have to wait for at least a year to have a new Income Tax Act. The new Act is intended to, among other things, simplify payments to the revenue authority, remove exemptions and broaden the tax base to net in more taxpayers with a view to increasing annual state revenues. Treasury is looking to grow tax revenue by at least two per cent of gross domestic product in the financial year 2015/2016 to Sh1.25 trillion [...]

ABC Bank, EAX eye grain farmers with loans deal

ABC Bank and the East Africa Exchange (EAX) have signed a deal that will make it easier for farmers to borrow through the use of warehouse receipts. Farmers who supply maize and other grains to stores certified by the EAX will be given electronic warehouse receipts that the farmers can then present as collateral for borrowing. Maize, wheat, rice, beans, pulses, sorghum and millet are some of the produce expected to trade at the exchange which the EAGC estimates will be a market worth Sh3 billion in the next three year [...]

Derivatives trading at Nairobi bourse to start, banks sign up

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) will work with three banks to set up a clearing house for its planned offering of derivative instruments from the second quarter of this year. The new products are expected to boost liquidity at the bourse, as it seeks to become the third biggest exchange on the continent, up from fifth currently. Two of the three banks were international and one was local [...]

Tea shortage pushes up prices at Mombasa auction

Tea prices have gone up by 30 per cent in the last three months as the shortage of green leaf in factories continue to be witnessed following the ongoing drought in most parts of the country. The price of the commodity has been rising since the beginning of the year, raising hopes of farmers who for the last two years have been grappling with low prices [...]

Kenya shilling gains as foreign reserves hit Sh663bn

Foreign currencies held by the Central Bank of Kenya increased by Sh8 billion ($90 million) last week as the shilling gained against all major currencies. CBK says a stronger shilling is pegged on the drop in international oil prices and growth in remittances into the country. However, the current account deficit is still a source of the weakness of the local unit [...]

Henry Rotich names team to oversee CMA master plan execution

Kenya is seeking to strengthen its bid to be Africa’s financial hub by forming a committee to spearhead the implementation of a capital markets master plan. The committee includes the attorney-general, cabinet secretaries in charge of mining and agriculture, governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, chief executive of the Capital Markets Authority, director-general of Communications Authority of Kenya and the chairperson of the financial sector regulators forum [...]

Kenya’s economy to grow 6.6pc next year on back of low oil prices, investments

The economy is poised to grow by seven per cent by 2017 buoyed by falling crude oil prices and sustained investment in infrastructure. According to the World Bank, Kenya’s economy is larger and growing faster than previously estimated following a re-basing of growth figures, further elevating the country as an economic powerhouse in sub-Saharan Africa [....]