Old Mutual gets approval to acquire UAP Holdings stake

Old Mutual can now acquire a 37.3 per cent stake of UAP Holdings, following approval of the transaction by regulators.The acquisition is expected to hand Old Mutual a 60.7 per cent stake in UAP Holdings on completion.Old Mutual in January had acquired 23.3 per cent of UAP Holdings —a combined stake from investment firm Centum and director and businessman Chris Kirubi for $97.6 million (Sh8.9 billion).The multinational had further intended to purchase a 37.3 per cent stake held by the AbraajGroup, AfricInvest and Swedfund, effectively making UAP a subsidiary of Old Mutual [...]

Equity woos investors with instant payment for share sales

Equity Investment Bank in the next few weeks plans to launch a service that will allow customers to be paid once a sale order goes through.Normally, customers are paid up to three days after the transaction although some stockbrokers are able to shorten this period for specific clients because at any given day they know how much working capital is available in their account.The lender also hopes to use the securities as collateral for customers taking loans [...]

Tuskys re-opens Ugandan branch after 11 months

Tuskys supermarket has re-opened its Uganda branch which was shut down by health officials last year after being accused of stocking rotten meat.The Kampala Capital City Authority closed Bwaise branch after finding stocks of rotten chicken and beef [...]

Coffee auction closes as poor prices recorded

The weekly auction at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) has gone on a one-month annual recess as the main season ends.The quantity of good quality coffee had dropped drastically with most of the traded produce fetching lower returns [...]

Chinese company renews battle for Sh164bn Lamu power plant project

A Chinese company has renewed its legal battle for the Sh164 billion Lamu coal power plant project by filing a suit seeking to compel the Public Procurement Oversight Authority (PPOA) to review tender proceedings.Hebei Construction Investment Group (HCIG) and its Kenyan partner Liketh Investments want the High Court to overturn PPOA tribunal’s decision awarding the multi-billion-shilling project to a consortium of Centum Investments and Gulf Energy [...]

Insurers cash calls loom on new capital rules in Finance Bill

The Treasury wants insurers to hold a minimum capital pegged on three parameters that include the risk-based capital and a minimum capital set for each business class. The current law only requires insurance companies to meet flat minimum capital levels that may not reflect the actual risks for all the underwriters.Insurance companies have up to June 2018 [...]

CBK seeks powers to weed out rogue bank investors

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) is set to get more powers to investigate shareholders of commercial banks who have questionable character.The CBK seeks to weed out shadowy investors who exercise control or influence decisions in banks, despite keeping their ownership below five per cent. [...]

Fitch concerned over Kenya, Uganda aggressive borrowing

Kenya and its neighbour Uganda risk losing their good credit rating if they continue borrowing heavily to support their ambitious infrastructure projects, analysts at Fitch Rating have warned.Fitch has maintained a ‘B+’ rating with a stable outlook for Kenya while Uganda has a ‘B’ rating with a positive outlook [...]