Author: Muthoga Mungania

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...

Toyota’s dealer in Kenya, CFAO Motors has received the okay from the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) to make an additional investment in Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers (KVM) Limited through a subscription for more shares. CFAO currently owns a 32.5 per cent stake in KVM and the new investment will raise the stake to 98 per...

Tanzania’s Amsons Group has made a $182.9 million offer to buy a 100 per cent stake in Kenya’s Bamburi Cement Plc, intending to later delist the company from the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). Amsons Group through their investment vehicle Amsons Industries (K) Limited has offered to buy 362.9 million shares from the cement manufacturer at...

South Sudan’s president Salva Kiir has fired the finance minister barely four months into the job. This is not the first time the president has fired a finance minister in the country since ascending into power in 2011. The recent sacking is the sixth replacement in the post since 2020. Salva Kiir did not give...

American global rating agency Moody’s has downgraded Kenya’s credit standing from B3 to Caa1 after the withdrawal of the finance bill following weeks of anti-government protests. The credit rating agency cited failure to implement austerity measures on expenditure foregoing revenue-raising measures in the Finance Bill 2024. President William Ruto’s withdrawal of the finance bill, a...

Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), is acquiring a 25 per cent stake in Tanzania-based Alistair Group strengthening its logistics foothold in Africa. The Tokyo-based logistical firm and Alistair will merge their operations to offer ocean and air freight forwarding, land transport and warehousing among other services. MOL has a global network and prowess...

The Democratic Republic of Congo is yet to pay the $14 million it owes to the East African Community in contributions, despite indications during Friday’s sitting of the East African Legislative Assembly about the payment of these arrears. Only half of the EAC’s $103 million budget for the 2023/24 financial year had been paid by...

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) for $10.5 billion in financial assistance. The PM raised concerns over the burgeoning budget deficit in an address to the Parliament on Thursday. “The negotiations with the IMF and WB are taking a long time. They...

The Public Service has turned down the Salaries and Remuneration Commission’s (SRC) offer of a pay rise for state officials. On Wednesday, July 3, Cabinet Secretary for Public Service Moses Kuria instructed the commission to degazette the implementation of the new proposed pay in a letter to SRC Chairperson Lyn Mengich. “As the Cabinet Secretary...

The price of fresh tilapia increased to 8.7 per cent from 3.8 per cent pushing Uganda’s inflation from 3.6 per cent to 3.9 per cent in June from the month before. Official data from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) shows chicken prices increased by 9.1 per cent in June compared to 4.6 per cent...

Equity Group shareholders have approved the establishment of a new health insurance subsidiary in Kenya, during the 20th annual general meeting, in an expansion move of its insurance business. The lender’s offerings have been extending beyond banking with a general insurance business also set to roll out by the end of June this year, raising...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised concerns over the ongoing demonstration in Kenya against the finance bill. In a statement released on Wednesday, the organisation expressed sadness over the state of the nation and the lives lost in the protests. “We are deeply concerned about the tragic events in Kenya in recent days and...

President William Ruto has bowed to public pressure, conceded and withdrawn the finance bill 2024 that brought a raft of new taxes after days of anti-tax protests that saw part of the Parliament in ashes. The bill was passed on Tuesday by the members of parliament (MPs) and was awaiting the president’s signature to be...