Stock market dip wipes out billions in pension savings

A year-long bear market at the Nairobi Securities Exchange has eaten deeply into retirement savings, leaving pension funds with returns below the average rate of inflation, a newly-released industry report says. Retirement schemes returned 0.5 per cent for the year compared to an inflation of 8.01 per cent in December [...]

BAT shareholders to get Sh4.9bn dividend payout

The weakening of the Kenya shilling helped British American Tobacco (BAT) to grow its net profit 17 per cent to Sh4.9 billion in the year ended Decembe. The company declared a final dividend of Sh46 per share. This was a rise from the Sh42.5 per share paid on the 2014 results, with BAT maintaining its dividend policy of paying out its entire net earnings. BAT, which earns about 45 per cent of its revenue from exports [...]

Ex-BAT Kenya boss in another bribery web

A former British American Tobacco (BAT) Kenya executive is entangled in fresh claims of bribery and corporate espionage allegedly carried out across southern Africa by the UK cigarette manufacturer. The Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association (FITA) wants police to investigate BAT claiming it ran a campaign to discredit competitors in South Africa and neighbouring markets [...]

Commissions cut as banks eat into life insurance agency pay

Life insurance companies have slashed the commissions they pay their agents in a move attributed to the rise of bancassurance, a channel where policies are sold through commercial banks. IRA has proposed the agent commissions to be capped at 30 per cent of new business and reduced the spread to five years. Agents attribute their woes to entry of commercial banks in the insurance sector [...]

Rotich asks lenders to cut rates for good mobile loan clients

The Treasury has asked commercial banks to cut interest rates charged on mobile loans where repayment history has been good. Treasury CS Henry Rotich has urged banks and mobile network companies to reward repeat borrowers who have built a good credit history. Uptake of mobile money loans has been high since introduction two years ago due to ease of access and fast disbursement [...]

Tea prices, volumes drop at weekly auction

Tea prices at the Mombasa auction declined marginally in last week’s trade even as the volumes offered for sale dropped by 58,000 kilogrammes. On average, a kilo fetched Sh230, down from Sh241 in the previous week’s auction. This decline marks the sixth time in a row that the beverage has been losing ground since the beginning of the year [...]

Banks expect loan default increase on high interest rates

Commercial banks expect non-performing loans to increase during the year due to higher interest rates, government cash-flow problems and tough economic conditions. An increase in non-performing loans has a negative impact on banks profitability [...]

HF to launch two major Thika Road housing estate projects

Housing Finance (HF) is set to launch two major housing projects along Thika Road this year, marking the latest real estate development that is seeking to attract more residents along the super highway constructed three years ago. HF also plans to build the second phase of apartment units in Riruta, dubbed the Precious Heights estate [...]

Safaricom roped into contractors’ Sh180m dispute

Mobile phone service provider Safaricom has been dragged into a Sh180 million dispute between two contractors who it hired to expand a data centre in Thika town. Leebarn Builders has sued Safaricom to stop the telco from making payments for the works to Linksoft Communications Systems, which was the original contractor hired to expand the Thika data centre [...]