The capital markets regulator on Monday allowed Dr Christopher J Kirubi to acquire up to 49.99 per cent shares of Centum Investment Company PLC, without having to make a mandatory take-over offer to other shareholders. The exemption, pursuant to Regulation 5(1) of the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) Takeovers & Mergers Regulations, 2002, will see Kirubi […]
Category: Kenya Business
Kenya: COVID-19 Brings Economy to Near Standstill
With people staying at home, conferences suspended, nightclubs closed, schools shut and global supply chains disrupted, Kenya has started walking down the path of nations whose economies have been devastated by Covid-19. Companies are trying to figure out where to get money to pay their employees at the end of the month due to the […]
Equity Kenya in talks to buy another DR Congo lender
Equity Group Holdings (EGH) has entered negotiations with shareholders of the second largest bank in the Democratic Republic of Congo as it expands its footprint in the mineral-rich region. In a statement, Equity Group said it was looking to purchase a controlling stake in Banque Commerciale du Congo (BCDC) through a cash transaction and merge […]
Two Rivers Mall pays off $80m Co-op Bank loan using another loan
Centum Investment Company #ticker:ICDC has repaid a Sh8 billion loan it took from Co-operative Bank to develop the Two Rivers Mall in Nairobi. The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm used a new loan from South Africa’s Standard Bank to retire the Co-op Bank debt. Centum says the finance costs on the Standard Bank loan are relatively […]
Oman Air and Kenya Airways extend codeshare agreement
The codeshare expansion, effective 1 October 2019, will connect Oman Air guests travelling beyond Nairobi to Entebbe, Uganda and Johannesburg, South Africa Oman Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman , and Kenya Airways, the national carrier of Kenya, have expanded their codeshare cooperation. The two airlines first signed up for the agreement […]
Kenya Airways suspends CFO again
Kenya Airways has suspended its chief financial officer in a development that look set to destabilise the executive suite of the national carrier struggling to recover from years of losses. A director of the national carrier, who sought anonymity, told the Business Daily that the head of finance, Hellen Mathuka, was sent on compulsory leave […]
Kenya low cost flier Fly 540 seeks nod for domestic expansion
The budget carrier will be leasing more aircraft this year. Low-cost airline Fly 540 has applied for an air service licence from the aviation regulator to expand its domestic route offering to include Nanyuki, Meru, Amboseli, Lewa, Isiolo, Samburu and Moyale. The move, if granted, means the carrier could soon commence flights to the destinations […]
Kenya: Bank Takeover embroiled in political row
KCB Group’s bid to acquire Kenya’s troubled National Bank has run into strong headwinds following claims that the deal is being done in violation of the rules governing the sale of state-owned companies. Opponents of the sale say that Kenya’s National Treasury, which is handling the transaction, has not complied with the privatisation law, and […]
Kenya: Top Banks’ Profits due to Central Bank regulations reducing loan loss provisions
Kenya’s top banks have posted impressive profits for 2018, benefiting from the Central Bank’s one-year earnings "protection" window in the implementation of the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS 9) which demands higher provisioning for bad loans. Analysts had predicted that the banks would report nearly flat revenue performance in the face of declining credit to […]