Vodafone launches M-Pesa Ghana in Africa expansion bid

UK telecommunications company Vodafone, which holds a 40 per cent stake in Safaricom, has launched M-Pesa services in Ghana —completing the spread of mobile money in all African countries where the British firm has a presence. The M-Pesa service in Ghana is called Vodafone Cash and its launch brings to 11 the countries where the UK company has launched its mobile cash service globally including in [...]

Listed insurance, service firms see least dividend yields

Dividend yields in the insurance and services sectors are lagging behind those of other market segments at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) even as the two sectors remain among the hardest hit by share price erosion over the past one year. Dividend yields, which relate investor pay-out and stock price, tend to rise when markets turn bearish. Analysts however see a fall in dividend yields in the other sectors as well this year [...]

Tea prices start 2016 on a losing streak as volumes decrease

Tea prices opened the year on a losing streak shedding off five per cent of its value in the first auction of 2016. The quantities offered for trading last week dropped to 7.7 million kg from 9.1 million kg traded in the last week of December at the weekly Mombasa auction. With El Nino rains expected to come to an end, the volume from the factories is projected to drop on the onset of a dry season in most of the tea growing zones [...]

Alarm raised as Kenya’s real estate sector grapples with fake products

The fast-growing real estate sector in Kenya is grappling with a rise in fake products mainly imported from Asia (mainly China) by dealers out to make quick money at the expense of house developers, buyers and tenants [...]

Imperial Bank owners mulling action on external auditors

Imperial Bank shareholders are contemplating suing audit firm PKF for professional negligence, the second time such action would be contemplated since 2006 when Trust Bank depositors were cleared by the appellate court to sue KMPG Peat Marwick [...]

India-based cement giant eyes Sh12.7bn majority ARM stake

India’s largest cement manufacturer UltraTech Cement is in the race to acquire a controlling stake in Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed ARM Cement, in which it could buy convertible preference shares of up to $125 million (Sh12.7 billion). UltraTech is said to be negotiating with ARM for the controlling stake in Kenya’s second-largest cement manufacturer after the French-owned Bamburi Cement [...]

Safaricom’s Lipa Karo na M-Pesa signs 4,500 schools

Safaricom has registered 4,500 schools on its Lipa Karo na M-Pesa service since launch of the product in 2010. The services allows parents to pay fees on the M-Pesa service, while schools have an aggregated Paybill number that allows them to consolidate their receipts into one central account [...]

Woolworths to open own stores in Kenya after Deacons deal

South Africa’s luxury fashion brand Woolworths is set to open its own outlets in Kenya after buying out Deacons Kenya’s stake in a joint venture the two formed in 2012. The multinational took a controlling 51 per cent stake in the joint venture, leaving Deacons with a 49 per cent equity and management rights in the new outfit. Woolworths is now set to take full ownership of the subsidiary, setting the stage for a complete split with Deacons [...]