Author: Muthoga Mungania

South Sudan has signed a deal with Chinese firm Shengli Oilfield Keer Engineering and Construction Company (SOKEC) to construct an oil refinery and storage facilities.The agreement was signed between South Sudan’s state-owned Nile Petroleum Corporation (Nilepet). “With this MoU, we hope you will be able to translate it into agreements and projects that we will...

Kenya’s cement manufacturer Savannah Clinker Limited has made a counter-offer against Tanzania’s Amsons Group to acquire Bamburi Cement Plc. The company is offering to buy Bamburi’s shares at $0.54 per piece against Amson’s $0.50, starting a bidding war for the cement manufacturer. Savannah Clinker Limited has sweetened the deal by adding that it does not...

Global credit ratings agency S&P has downgraded Kenya to B minus from B, marking the third such demotion since June, after similar actions by Fitch and Moody’s. This decline in rank comes on the back of the withdrawal of the controversial Finance Bill 2024 after nationwide protests. S&P also said the reason for the disparagement...

The Development Bank of Rwanda has received the green light from the Rwanda Capital Market Authority to issue a second sustainability-linked bond worth $22.6 million (Rwf30 billion) in its latest fundraising. This second bond is after a successful first issuance where BRD sought $2.6 million last year.BRD launched its inaugural SLB on the Rwanda Stock...

Kenya’s competition watchdog has without condition approved the acquisition of Suntory Beverage and Food Kenya Limited’s entire ownership by Bidcoro Africa Limited. Suntory is behind the popular Lucozade drink and blackcurrant concentrate Ribena, while Bidcoro owns the Suntop fruit juice brand. This acquisition will see Bidcoro take over Suntory Kenya’s entire issued share capital according...

Kenya’s national carrier, Kenya Airways (KQ), has ended a decade-long streak of losses, turning a profit thanks to interventions by the Treasury. The airline posted a profit of approximately $4 million (Kes 513 million) in the first half of 2024, reversing a loss of about $168.2 million (Kes 21.7 billion) in the same period of...

The company said in a press statement that the airport will be some 40km from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. The East African Airline has partnered with Dar Al-Handasah Consultants (Shair and Partners)- a privately-owned international consulting company dealing in engineering and architecture to design the mega airport. “Ethiopian Airlines Group has signed a technical...

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s dairy firm, Brookside Uganda, has accused the Kenyan government of bias in issuing milk import permits, following the denial of a license to import Ugandan milk. The company alleges that the Kenya Dairy Board (KDB) has unfairly withheld the necessary documentation required to move products from its Uganda operations into the...

Kenya’s Central Bank governor Kamau Thugge has been sermoned by the members of parliament over an undisclosed German firm that will print the new banknotes. Mr Thugge was summoned by the National Assembly’s Finance and National Planning Committee to provide details of the contract with the printing firm. The committee led by Molo Member of...

Zambia has agreed to reopen its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo after closing it over the weekend on the back of ongoing protests. The move comes barely three months since the signing of a cooperation agreement to facilitate cross-border trade under the regional bloc Southern African Development Community (SADC) between the two countries....

Kenya has enlisted the services of the Gates Foundation to support capacity building for financial regulators to accelerate how fast the country exits greylisting. The former Cabinet Secretary for Treasury and National Planning said during the handover session on Monday that the Gates Foundation would work with banks to ensure it is out of the...

Equity Group, a listed lender on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), has reported a 12.1 percent growth in net profit to $221.28 million in the first half of the year, attributed to an increase in non-interest income from regional businesses. The Group’s Chief Executive Officer and managing director, Mr. James Mwangi, said during the announcement...

Global credit ratings agency Fitch has downgraded one of Nigeria’s largest conglomerate Dangote Industries Limited owned by Aliko Dangote Africa’s wealthiest man- to B+ because of liquidity challenges and the ability to raise funds. Fitch said the country’s currency (Naira) decline also played a part in the decision to devalue the company and it will...

Ollo Africa, an african fintech based in Togo has announced the launch of an application called Ohana Africa, designed to simplify the management of formal or informal groups of all sizes. The company said in a press release published on July 30, 2024 the solution will allow for seamless management of contributions from cooperatives, sport...

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has announced it is making changes to some notes to have them bear the new governor’s name and that of the principal secretary for treasury, hours after slashing the benchmark rate by 25 basis points, setting it at 12.75 per cent. In a statement from the apex bank, the...

Kenya’s automaker of affordable vehicles, Mobius Motors Kenya Limited has been put under liquidation after 13 years in business, according to a public notice from the company, after efforts to resuscitate the firm failed. KVSK Sastry has been appointed the liquidator set to wind up the company.Mobius has been grappling with debts and struggled to...

President William Ruto’s new cabinet nominees have struggled to fight the ghosts of their pasts, with some battling allegations of drug trafficking and unresolved graft cases. The nominees appearing one at a time before the Appointments Committee of the National Assembly for vetting were placed under the microscope to determine how fit they were to...

Kenya’s inflation in July fell to 4.3 per cent from 4.6 per cent a month earlier, according to newly published data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) on Wednesday. This is attributed to the marginal declining food and energy prices and a strengthening shilling. The data shows that this is the first time...

Kenya’s Court of Appeal on Wednesday declared the Finance Act 2023 unconstitutional dealing a blow to President William Ruto. The court has upheld a decision by the High Court to throw out last year’s finance bill because it did not follow the Constitution which dictates that public participation should be done.The Act introduced several tax...

The World Bank has approved $1.5 billion financing for Ethiopia, a few days after the Horn of Africa nation devalued its currency, birr and promised additional funding over the next three years. In a statement on Tuesday (30.07.24), the Bretton Woods institution said it had approved Ethiopia’s first sustainable and inclusive growth policy operation to...

East African Breweries has posted a drop in after-tax profit to $129 million in the year ended June 2024, from $144 million in the previous year. This was attributed to an increase in net finance costs from $42.3 million to $63.1 million in the period under review. “Over the year, we navigated a complex and...

Ethiopia’s central bank has revealed the recent devaluation of the birr has been an attempt to secure funding from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The process involved loosening the tight restrictions imposed on the foreign currency market, which is key in getting IMF funding. “The reform introduces a competitive market-based determination of the exchange rate...

House speaker Moses Wetangula has said it will take taxpayers about $714,829 (Ksh94 million) to renovate the National Assembly damages suffered during the anti tax protests which saw demonstrators breach and set ablaze parts of the Parliament. The speaker of the National Assembly Mr Wetangula said the events of June 25th where protestors stormed the...

Safaricom Plc, Kenya’s largest telecommunication and East Africa’s most profitable company reported a 17.5 per cent decline in share price or $978.7 million attributed to the ongoing anti-government protests which started mid June. The company told shareholders during the annual general meeting on Thursday, that the protests were partly to blame for the declining share...

Adani Airport Holdings, a subsidiary of one of India’s largest conglomerates, has proposed to invest $1.85 billion to expand the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in a 30-year concession deal with the Kenyan government. The company, a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Limited owned by the Adani Group sent a proposal to the government which the...

President William Ruto has named the remaining batch of cabinetsecretaries (CSs) which has featured leaders from Raila Odinga, leader of opposition camp. Four of the leaders are from the opposition side of the government, even as Ruto tries to make changes to his administration in a bid to quell the ongoing protests. The four are...

Some 18 Kenyans including former ministers, directors and principal secretaries have been implicated in a controversial $108.9 million (Ksh14 billion) Israeli road tender. The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is currently awaiting evidence from Israeli authorities to conclude the cases hopefully with convictions of the Kenyan officials in the local courts. This is after Israeli...

South Africa’s central bank has kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 8.25 per cent in a split decision for the first time since September. Four members during the Thursday meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) preferred an unchanged stance and two opted for a 25-basis-point rate cut. The Committee expressed concern for most...

Kenya’s banking sector posted an 8.8 per cent decrease inprofitability in 2023 from $1.83 billion (Ksh240.4 billion) in December 2022, to $1.67 billion (Ksh219.2 billion) in December 2023. The decrease in profitability was attributed to a higher increase in total expenses of $1.34 billion (Ksh175.3 billion) compared to the rise in total income of $1.18...

Uganda’s Jubilee Health Insurance has launched a new children’s –only medical insurance product dubbed the J-Junior Medical Cover, hoping to decrease the financial burden of healthcare for children below 17 years. The new health insurance product was launched on Monday (18.07.24), targeting children who constitute a considerable share of the private health insurance sector yet...