Safaricom value jumps ahead of next top 5 NSE firms

Safaricom’s capital gain in the midst of a general price decline at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has pushed its capitalisation ahead of the five next largest companies in the bourse. Safaricom is currently valued at Sh657.07 billion, while the combined market caps of the EABL, Equity, KCB, Co-op Bank and BAT Kenya stand at Sh655.4 billion going by Monday’s closing prices [...]

Mombasa billionaire family raises KCB stake to Sh3.8bn

A Mombasa-based billionaire family, the Bablas, has raised its shareholding in KCB Group to 3.14 per cent, a stake that is valued at Sh3.8 billion as per the current share price of the bank. The family’s rise has relegated former KCB director Sunil Shah to second place in the list of top local individual investors. Mr Shah, who has sold or transferred KCB shares worth over Sh1 billion since 2011, now has a residual 1.5 per cent stake in the lender that is valued at Sh1.8 billion [...]

Private sector credit expansion overshoots CBK target at 21 pc

Credit to the private sector expanded 21 per cent in the year to August, slightly higher than the target of 19.7 per cent set by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). As at the end August, the total credit to the private sector stood at Sh2.15 trillion compared to Sh1.78 trillion the same time last year. This represents an increase of Sh373 billion in 12 months [...]

Kenya’s Q3 tea earnings rise 19 per cent on low volumes

The value of Kenyan tea rose 18.5 per cent in the first nine months of the year compared to a corresponding period in 2014. Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicates the worth of the beverage grew from Sh70.5 billion last year to Sh83.5 billion this year.  The growth was attributed to a decrease in volume, which pushed up the demand for tea boosting the prices at auctions [...]

Kenyan banks beat their EA peers in returns to shareholders

Kenya bank owners enjoy the highest returns compared to their East African peers, helped by lower operating costs and wider interest margins. Kenyan bank's average payback to shareholders as measured by the return on equity was (ROE) ratio was 28.3 per cent [...]

Coastal oil explorer Pancontinental raises Sh75m to settle debts

Pancontinental Oil & Gas, which is exploring for hydrocarbons at the Kenyan Coast, has completed raising Sh75 million ($738,000) in a private placement. The explorer made the announcement in a filing with the Australian Securities Exchange where it is listed. The firm’s total cash position is getting beefed up using two methods with one portion being a private placement to professional and sophisticated investors, while the other part will be from the existing shareholders or a rights issue [...]

Kenya Power gets Sh6bn loan from French fund

Kenya Power has received a Sh6 billion loan from French fund AFD to finance the expansion of its electricity transmission network. Kenya Power plans to connect an additional 814,000 customers to the national grid by 2017, further raising its customer base from the current 4.1 million. The funds made available to Kenya Power will partially support the implementation of the company’s distribution masterplan for 2012-2030 [...]