NSE 20 share index up on blue chip gains

The NSE 20 share index inched upwards on Tuesday on modest blue chip gains, halting a slide that has seen the market drop below 5000 points to a six-month low. This was mainly on the back of gains by Bamburi, Standard Chartered Bank, KCB and Safaricom [...]

Brokers accuse KRA of shifting goal posts on tax

Stockbrokers and the taxman are headed for renewed battle after the intermediaries declared they cannot comply with an order to submit capital gains tax (CGT) supposedly collected since January this year. KRA wrote to individual brokers and investment banks on April 30 asking them to pay within 14 days. The brokers said it was impossible to comply with the order from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) since they had not been withholding the tax due from investors [...]

KenolKobil to build Sh1.4bn lubricant plant in Mombasa

KenolKobil will set up a Sh1.4 billion factory in Mombasa for production of its Castrol-branded lubricants as the firm eyes tax savings to boost its bottom line. The oil marketer said on Tuesday the financing of the plant would be through a joint venture with oil major BP Southern Africa, which is the owner of Castrol lubes. It also plans to build Sh985.8m service stations this year in plans to strengthen its non-oil business line [...]

Rwanda’s Crystal Telecoms offers Kenyans shares in IPO

Kenyan investors will have a chance to participate in the initial public offering (IPO) of Rwandan telco Crystal Telecoms that opens on Thursday. The IPO, first announced in April, will run for two weeks until June 5 [...]

Zimbabwe’s GTel in phones deal with Safaricom

A Zimbabwean mobile handsets manufacturer, G-Telecoms (GTel), has teamed up with Safaricom to offer phones on contract, giving customers flexible repayment plans. G-Telecoms (GTel) said on Tuesday it would enter the Kenyan market next month by introducing eight of its smartphone brands. GTel is owned by a Zimbabwean but manufactures its phones in China [...]

Equity Bank boss quits Britam board

Equity Bank chief executive James Mwangi has resigned from the board of insurance group Britam. No reason was given for Mr Mwangi’s resignation in a terse statement sent on Tuesday by the Nairobi Securities Exchange. His position as a non-executive director was taken by Walter Andrew Hollas, a former senior partner and CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers before his retirement in 2010 [...]

Mergers loom in insurance sector as firms seek edge

More mergers and acquisitions are expected in Kenya’s insurance sector this year as competition picks and underwriters seek to raise efficiency, global consultancy Deloitte has said. Analysts have previously warned the local insurance market risks losing out on business from the oil sector due to low capital [...]

Brookside targets Nyanza dairy farmers to boost milk supply

Brookside Dairy has established milk collection points in Nyanza, targeting farmers from high altitude areas. Brookside Dairy has set up collection points in Migori, Nyamira and Kisii counties to meet increased demand for milk [...]

Developer unveils 400-acre Kiambu real estate project

Property developer Tilisi Developments Ltd has launched a 400-acre mixed use real-estate development in Kiambu that will have more than 3,200 houses and a logistics park. Phase one of the new Limuru Housing Estate will involve construction of common-use infrastructure, apartments, maisonettes and townhouses [...]