Stanlib to buy Greenspan Mall with first Sh12bn Reit offering

Stanlib Investments is set to buy Greenspan Mall in Donholm, Nairobi, with proceeds from Kenya’s first ever Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) sales. Stanlib Investments plans to raise as much as Sh12.5 billion through the initial public offering (IPO) dubbed Fahari I-Reit that will go towards buying a mix of rental properties. The Reit will be listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) on November 24 for trading [...]

Kiserian posts highest gains on land prices

Kiserian town registered the highest returns on land in the year ending September 2015 according to the Hass Property Index report. On average an acre in the satellite town had an asking price of Sh5.8 million as at the end of September. Property prices in these satellite towns are mostly being driven by demand from investment groups and land buying companies [...]

G-Soko trading platform gets Sh400m grant

The East African Grain Council (EAGC) has received a Sh400 million grant from the UK to fund its online trading platform, G-Soko. The lobby for the grains industry will use the cash from the UK-funded Foodtrade East & Southern Africa (ESA) Project to increase the traffic to the site, open more grain collection points and link more certified warehouses to the G-Soko trading platform [...]

PE firm Catalyst raises stake in Jamii Bora to 11pc

Private equity firm Catalyst Principal Partners has raised its stake in Jamii Bora Bank to 11 per cent, nearly three times its initial. Catalyst first bought into the bank through a rights issue in December last year, snapping up a 4.4 per cent stake in the mid-tier lender. The private equity firm has been buying more shares through the over-the-counter (OTC) market and has consequently got a seat on the bank’s board [...]

Boeing torn between Kenya and Ethiopia offices

American aircraft manufacturer Boeing is weighing options of opening an office either in Kenya or Ethiopia to gain a foothold in the eastern Africa market. Boeing Company senior vice president Marc Allen said Thursday the US giant is assessing factors like human resource, infrastructure and existing frameworks for partnerships in the two capitals [...]

Ethiopian Airlines flights to Yaoundé up stakes for KQ

Ethiopian Airlines flights to Cameroon’s capital Yaoundé are set to raise the competition bar for Kenya Airways, which also operates flights to the West African city. Ethiopian Airlines has begun flying four times a week to Yaoundé in an expansion plan that is set to intensify competition for Kenya Airways. KQ currently flies daily to Yaoundé’s Nsimalen International Airport and Douala Airport in the commercial capital of Cameroon [...]

Lufthansa resumes direct passenger flights to Nairobi

German airline Lufthansa Sunday resumed direct passenger flight service to Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, ending 18 years of absence. The airline is deploying an Airbus A340-300 for the passenger service and will be handled by Africa Flight Services. Lufthansa said its three weekly flights will leave Nairobi every [...]

Treasury queried over secret US bank account

The Treasury has been asked to explain the interest earned from a secret government-owned New York account that held proceeds of the $2 billion (Sh204 billion) Eurobond. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) wants to know how much interest was earned from the New York account and who its beneficiaries were as well as the expenditure audit of the Eurobond. Withdrawals from the account were done without the approval of the Controller of Budget [...]

Arsenal debit card deal with closed Imperial Bank hangs in the balance

Arsenal Football Club has declined to comment on the future of its branded debit card partnership with Imperial Bank in the wake of the lender’s closure linked to massive fraud. Arsenal Football Club in May 2013 entered into a three-year deal with the bank to issue co-branded debit cards dubbed the Imperial Bank Arsenal Debit card in Kenya and Uganda [...]