Kenyan tea firms warn of poor annual earnings after H1 profits dip Kenyan tea firms Williamson Tea and peer Kapchorua reported on Monday weaker first-half pretax profits, and both said falling tea prices would reduce their respective full-year earnings by at least a quarter. Williamson Tea, which shares owners with…

US oil firm Camac suspends Lamu exploration Camac Energy, a Houston based oil explorer, has suspended carrying out seismic surveys in Lamu after concerns were raised over the effect of the operations on the Arabuko-Sokoke forest in the area. […] Local contractors take 40% of SGR fund…

Africa’s mobile money makes its way to Europe with M-Pesa M-Pesa has nearly 17 million active customers and as many as 186,000 agents worldwide. Customers make more than €900 million (US$1.1 billion) worth of person-to-person transactions a month. Now, the technology that was honed in Africa is being exported to…

KRA releases guidelines on withholding tax The Kenya Revenue Authority has released guidelines for the collection of withholding VAT on payments made to government suppliers, which will be charged at 6% of the cost of supplied goods or services. Withholding VAT was reintroduced in the Finance Act 2014 […

Senator Otieno Kajwang’ passes on Homabay Senator Otieno Kajwang’ died Tuesday night after suffering a cardiac arrest. Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) spokesperson Philip Etale confirmed the death shortly after midnight. […] RVR sues insurance company, seeks KES 68 million compensation Rift Valley Railways (RVR) has sued Cannon…

Uganda sugar barons want full access to Kenya market In what could compound local sugar millers’ problems, Uganda barons are demanding full access to the Kenya market — based on the East African Community’s free market rule. “… Sugar from other countries in SADC and Comesa — which are not…

President Uhuru Kenyatta to open investment forum Kenya is set to host its first two-day investment conference in Nairobi this week as the State intensifies its efforts to woo foreign investors. About 2,000 potential investors from over 100 countries are expected to attend the event at the Kenyatta International Convention…

Treasury aims to raise KES 15bn with reopening of 15-year paper The National Treasury is seeking to raise KES 15 billion in a 15-year bond sale. The fixed-income paper, which offers 10.25% as interest payable twice a year, closes next Tuesday, November 18. The Treasury has avoided offering such long-dated securities to…

Tullow moves to appease locals with car lease contracts British exploration firm Tullow Oil has stepped up efforts to ease tension between the company and Turkana residents with the award of KES 225 million car-lease contracts to 36 local companies. Protests by locals demanding more jobs and business opportunities at the…

Good morning, read on for  important business news in Kenya. Kenya’s Imports From the U.S. Triple Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics show Kenya has bought goods worth KES 120.41 billion from the US over the period, compared to KES 42.85 billion last year, a 181% growth. India sold goods worth…