NSE reclaims half of market capitalisation it lost in January

A rally in Safaricom, EABL, Equity and KCB stock prices at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) in the first week of February has helped the bourse claw back nearly half of the market capitalisation it lost in January. NSE has gained Sh57 billion in market capitalisation since February 1, thereby trimming the year-to-date decline in value as at Wednesday’s prices to [...]

KQ planes order raises Kenya’s imports from US to Sh49.5bn

Kenya Airways’ acquisition of two Dreamliner planes last November propelled the value of Kenya’s monthly imports from the United States to a record Sh49.5 billion, the latest trade data between the two countries shows. KQ last November added to its fleet two B787-8 planes worth Sh22.4 billion each [...]

Coffee price rebounds 10pc on high quality central Kenya beans

The price of coffee shot up 10 per cent in this week’s trading at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NEC) after a 14 per cent dip last week. In Tuesday’s auction, a 50 kilogramme (kg) bag was sold at Sh24,990 on average compared to Sh22,644 last week. The increase was attributed to high quality beans that farmers and cooperatives supplied at the auction [...]

Centum hires former PwC director as new chief finance officer

Investment firm Centum has tapped a former PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) executive as its new chief finance officer (CFO). Samuel Kariuki had worked at the consultancy for nearly 11 years, rising to the position of associate director before being head-hunted to lead Centum’s finance department [...]

Icpak asks Ciano to resign from disciplinary team

The Institute of Certified Public Accountants (Icpak) has pleaded with the chairman of its disciplinary committee Jonathan Ciano to resign on grounds of professional misconduct in an uncharacteristic show of weakness by a regulatory agency. Jonathan Ciano a former CEO of Uchumi Supermarkets, has been accused by the retailer of manipulating its financial statements to hide losses of more than Sh1 billion. He has also been accused of conflict of interest [...]

Alexander Forbes to offer medical cover for retirees

Financial services provider Alexander Forbes is set to offer medical insurance to retirees who are normally left out by insurance firms. Alexander Forbes will allow employees aged below 60 to save towards a medical cover dubbed Ngao Milele which will kick in when they retire. Insurance companies have avoided covering the elderly due to [...]

Tullow gives Kenya’s oil industry Sh15bn development boost

Kenya’s oil and gas industry received a boost after explorer Tullow Oil said it would spend part of the Sh15 billion ($150 million) earmarked for the region on local development, even as the firm reported losses. Tullow Oil said Kenya and Uganda would benefit from the expenditure [...]

Kenyan IT start-up Bamba Group gets backing by US investment firm Techstars

Local SMS-based data collection IT firm Bamba Group has received backing from Techstars, a US company which invests in high-potential technology-based start-ups. Bamba Group, founded three years ago, runs SMS-based solutions and a data collection software targeting companies and organisations in any country [...]