Safaricom to launch TV decoders next month

Safaricom is set to launch its own Internet-enabled digital television decoders next month, stepping up the battle for TV and data customers. Buyers of the high speed 4G-enabled Safaricom decoders will also have access to video-on-demand and downloads [...]

Tax experts fault KRA standard transfer pricing

A proposal by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to tighten transfer pricing guidelines has met resistance from auditors and tax advisors. KRA proposes to use a single market price as the reference point in determining whether a multinational has violated the Income Tax Act. But tax experts are questioning whether there can be a single price in the market or KRA should look at a range of prices in calculating transfer pricing [...]

Equity Bank closes value gap with rival KCB Group

Equity Bank last week closed the gap on KCB at the top of the bank valuation table following a 5.4 per cent gain. Equity Bank ended the week at an improved Sh49.50 a share from the previous week Sh47, while KCB chalked up a decline of 1.6 per cent from Sh64 to Sh63. Bank stocks in general are expected to start regaining some momentum as they gear towards first quarter earnings announcements, having gone through a lull post full-year results and some book closures for dividends [...]

CBK orders banks to freeze assets of Sudanese officials

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has instructed commercial banks and microfinance banks to freeze assets of four top public officials in Sudan in a delayed response to a 2005 United Nations resolutions [...]

Chase Bank eyes Sh10bn from debut bond sale

Chase Bank will next month make a debut in the market seeking to raise Sh10 billion through a corporate bond. Chase Bank has received approval from the industry regulator Capital Markets Authority (CMA) to raise the funds through a medium-term note programme. NIC Capital and Genghis Capital, a subsidiary of Chase Bank, have been appointed joint transaction advisors for the bond [...]

Ex-Telkom workers demand Sh250m severance pay

Former Telkom Kenya employees have given the company a week to pay up Sh250 million, an initial settlement of the Sh1.4 billion severance dues negotiated in an out-of-court agreement last year [...]

Pipe leakages at Mumias Sugar disrupt milling

Pipe leakages at Mumias Sugar have disrupted operations at the factory, limiting cane milling to sometimes only five days in a week. Pipe leakages have caused spillage of sucrose which has in turn increased the amount of cane that the miller requires to produce sugar, suppressing margins for the loss-making company. The leakages come just five months after Mumias re-opened after its customary annual maintenance shutdown [...]

Mauritian state to take over shares billionaire fugitive holds in Britam

Britam has been handed a major reprieve after the Mauritius government said it would join the financial services firm’s board and take up the directorships held by fugitive billionaire Dawood Rawat. Among the options Mauritius is weighing is disposing of the stake valued at nearly Sh14 billion to settle benefits for policyholders of Mr Rawat’s insurance firms back home [...]

 Kenya seeks to raise Sh1.8tr for infrastructure

The Government is looking to raise Sh1.8 trillion through the public-private partnership framework to fund 69 projects. According to the PPP Unit of the National Treasury, the funds will be sourced from local and foreign investors, and will be channeled towards planned projects in the transport, energy, education, water and sanitation, and health sectors [...]