Category: Business

225 total views, 61 views today

225 total views, 61 views today BY CORRESPONDENT,NAIROBI,16TH JULY 2019-KCB is a platinum sponsor in the ongoing Afro Asia Fintech Festival 2019 that officially began on Monday 15th July 2019 and will conclude on Tuesday 16th July 2019.    During the official opening ceremony, H.E President Uhuru Kenyatta visited  the KCB exhibition tent where the KCB Group Chief Operating Officer Mr Samuel Makome took him through the different technology innovations under KCB Group. As KCB Group, we have made “digital first and fast” an integral part of our strategy to help stimulate access…

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739 total views, 61 views today BY CORRESPONDENT,NAIROBI,12TH JULY 2019-Local cement manufacturer Savannah Cement has confirmed plans to expand its market reach beyond Kenya to the neighbouring regional countries. The market reach expansion programme at Savannah Cement, will also involve a local market enhancement programme to satisfy a growing demand for high quality cement products as the government’s efforts to rollout affordable housing under the Big 4 agenda continue to gain steam. According to Savannah Cement Managing Director Ronald Ndegwa, as part of the market expansion plans, the firm, is currently undertaking…

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946 total views, 61 views today BY CORRESPONDENT,NAIROBI,11TH JULY 2019-Leading local retailer, Tusker Mattresses, will this weekend host an exclusive foodstuff mega sale, across its branch network. The mid-month sale (Friday 12th July to Sunday 14th July) with discounts valued at more than Kshs 100million, has been designed to celebrate Tuskys customers for their continued support and will precede the firm’s annual mega sale that is scheduled for launch next week. Speaking when he announced the TUSKYS BIG FIVE foodstuff sale, Tusker Mattresses Group CEO Dan Githua said the customer reward programme this weekend- organized in…

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687 total views, no views today BY ANN MUNENE,NAIROBI,5TH JULY 2019-Jambojet  was on Friday  awarded the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) registration.The IOSA program is an internationally recognised and accepted evaluation system designed to assess the safety, operational management and control systems of an airline. Jambojet is the only operator after Kenya Airways to get IOSA registration in Kenya, reinforcing its commitment to maintain global safety standards in its operations. “Safety is a principal requisite in our industry. Our customers need the assurance that they can travel comfortably, affordably and securely…

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1,876 total views, no views today BY CORRESPONDENT,NAIROBI,24TH JUNE 2019-Tala announced today the appointment of Mr. Ivan Mbowa to lead its Kenya business effective 1st June 2019. Mr. Mbowa is an innovative and courageous professional with over 14 years of experience delivering business results and building high performing teams across Africa. He has built a career around expanding access to finance in Africa, with roles in international banking and venture capital-backed Fintech entrepreneurship. He has held the role of CEO at Umati Capital as well as senior management roles at Citigroup across…

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1,714 total views, no views today BY CORRESPONDENT,NAIROBI,24TH JUNE 2019-On 18 April 2019 KCB Group PLC (KCB) gave notice of its intention to acquire 100% of the ordinary shares of National Bank of Kenya Limited (NBK), pursuant to regulation 4(1) of the of The Capital Markets (Take-overs and Mergers) Regulations, 2002. KCB proposes to make the acquisition through a share swap of 10 ordinary shares of NBK for every 1 ordinary share of KCB. The offer to acquire 100% of the ordinary shares of NBK is subject to regulatory approvals.  KCB received…

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1,689 total views, no views today BY JOAN WANJIKU,NAIROBI,31ST MAY 2019-Spire Bank Limited on Friday  announced a  profit  after tax  of Sh106.2 million during the first quarter ended 31st March 2019. The Bank’s after tax profit rose by more than 100% from a loss of Sh265.1 million over the same period last year. Bank’s Managing Director Dr. Norman Ambunya  while announcing the results said the results were encouraging, as the Bank has opted to focus on loan collections before expanding its balance sheet. He added “the year looks promising and with…

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1,121 total views, no views today BY CORRESPONDENT,NAIROBI,31ST MAY 2019-Uchumi Supermarkets Plc has begun piloting a new payment platform that will make it possible for suppliers to be paid in real time once their goods are sold. The new system is one of the strategies to be adopted for the anticipated turnaround strategies by the listed retailer. “The new system will offer a complete traceability through smart logistics and warehouse management, better liquidity by guaranteeing real-time settlement or payment each time goods are sold. Those suppliers who join in will be…

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747 total views, no views today BY CORRESPONDENT,NAIROBI,30TH MAY 2019-KCB Group shareholders have  approved a proposal to acquire 100% of the issued ordinary shares of National Bank of Kenya Limited (NBK) via share swap. This approval followed the offer made by KCB Group on April 18 2019 to acquire 100% of the Shares of NBK by way of a share swap of 10 ordinary shares of NBK for every 1 ordinary share of KCB. The transaction is subject to regulatory and NBK shareholders approvals. The acquisition is part of KCB’s ongoing…

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1,521 total views, 1 views today BY CORRESPONDENT,NAIROBI,22ND MAY,2019-KCB Group PLC after tax profit grew 11% to KShs. 5.8 billion in the first quarter of 2019. Stronger non-funded income lines, robust loan book growth and reduction in interest expense drove performance from KShs. 5.2 billion reported the same period last year. KCB Group CEO and MD Joshua Oigara said while the regulatory and operating business environment remained in flux, the Group’s corporate and retail franchises continued to post impressive returns, helping the lender to grow its market share. “The performance is as…

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405 total views, no views today BY CORRESPONDENT,MOMBASA,21ST  MAY 2019-The Kenya Revenue Authority on Tuesday signed a Transshipment Standard Operating Procedures charter with the Kenya Ports Authority and Kenya Shipping Agents Association at the Port of Mombasa to enhance cargo clearance efficiency and boost regional trade. The various stakeholders described the formulation of the Transshipment SOPs as a key milestone for shipping. The adoption of a bidding SOPs, they explained, will play a key role in raising efficiency levels at the Port of Mombasa. The SOPs have been developed to international…

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887 total views, no views today BY CORRESPONDENT,NAIROBI,16TH MAY 2019-The Retirement Benefits Authority has announced an 8 percent year-on-year increase in the total assets under management by fund managers and approved issuers in Kenya. According to the recently released RBA Retirement Benefits Industry report for December 2018, 16 fund managers and 15 approved issuers, submitted 1,236 scheme reports with a total fund value of Ksh. 980 billion representing an 8 percent increase compared to the December 2017 values. The report further confirms that the total assets managed by fund managers amounted to Ksh.…

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1,191 total views, no views today BY JOAN WANJIKU,NAIROBI,14TH MAY 2019-Motorist across the country will now have to dig deeper into their pockets  to buy petrol after the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority reviewed the  cost of fuels upwards.In the just released prices , super petrol has gone up further this month and will now retail Sh112.03 in Nairobi, a price that will be in place until the 14th June 2019. Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) says  the price of Super Petrol has jumped up Sh5.43 while Diesel and Kerosene…

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1,651 total views, no views today BY JOAN WANJIKU,NAIROBI,10TH MAY 2019-Customers   visiting the Two rivers Mall in the outskirts of Nairobi city to buy mattresses ,pillows and other related goods have every reason to smile  after   Vitafoam Products Limited, which is a leading manufacturer of foam-based products mattresses and pillows opened its  retail shop at the mall. Chief Executive Officer of Vitafoam, Rakesh Shah said, “The main benefit of a mall is we will have an enclosed and controlled environment that is comfortable for shoppers all year round. It is also an…

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1,228 total views, no views today BY JOAN WNAJIKU,NAIROBI,9TH MAY 2019-Equity Bank Group Q1 2019 net profit incrased by  5 %  to Sh6.2 billion from Sh5.9 billion in the corresponding quarter last year on increased customer deposits and improved loan book. According to the results released on Thursday,the bank’s gross profits rose by six per cent to Sh8.8 billion compared to Sh8.3 billion in the quarter ended March 2018. The bank’s total income grew to Sh17.6 billion from Sh16.6 billion while its interest income rose marginally to Sh13.5 billion from Sh12.7…

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937 total views, no views today CALIFORNIA, United States of America, May 8, 2019/ — Global premier mobile phone brand TECNO Mobile (www.TECNO-Mobile.com) announced plans at Google IO 2019 which will see its SPARK 3 Pro running on Android™ P™ operating system upgrade to join Q Beta on May 7th. Stephen HA, Vice President of TRANSSION and GM of TECNO Mobile, said: “We are delighted to announce our further expansion of cooperation with Google. This year, with upcoming Android™ Q system, TECNO SPARK 3 Pro will upgrade and provide the users…

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1,192 total views, no views today BY ANN MUNENE,NAIROBI,3RD MAY 2019-Telkom is upgrading its network’s capacity in 5 towns to cater to growing demand across the country. The ongoing upgrade is part of Telkom’s 1 billion shillings network expansion and optimization program and will see a significant boost to its quality of service in Nairobi, Kisumu, Mombasa, Nakuru, and Eldoret. This network expansion will also include the IP Core expansion from 30Gigabit to 100Gigabit that will offer a better experience to Internet users. According to Telkom’s Chief Technical and Information Officer,…

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1,075 total views, no views today BY JOAN WANJIKU,NAIROBI,3RD MAY 2019-Mobile phone services  provider company Safaricom has reported a net profit of Sh63.4 billion for the period ending March 2019,representing 14.7 percent . According to  the results released on Friday in Nairobi, voice service revenue grew by 0.3 percent to Sh95.9 billion while M-Pesa revenue grew by 19.2 percent to Sh74.9 billion, making the two the largest contributors to revenue. “We are pleased with the strong results we have delivered for the year, building on our long track record of delivering…

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1,233 total views, no views today BY CORRESPONDENT,NAIROBI,30TH APRIL,2019-Kenya Airways  posted a Sh7.55 billion net loss for the period  ending December 2018 as higher costs offset a jump in revenue. The company’s   full-year results do not have a comparable period because KQ, as the airline is known by its international code, in 2017 changed its reporting period from ending in March 31 to now end on December 31. However, KQ had made a net loss of Sh6.41 billion in the 9-month period between April 1 and Dec 31 2017. The company’s…

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512 total views, no views today BY KORIR JUMA,NAIROBI,30TH APRIL,2019-Stakeholders of  the giant mobile phone services company Safaricom have been assured of  stability ahead of the planned Bob Collymore’s exit later this year. O n Monday ,Reuters News Agency carried a story that Collymore who has been Chief Executive Officer of the company  since 2010 will not seek the renewal of his two-year term set come to an end in August. Safaricom’s Board Chairperson Nicholas Nganga however says ,  a decision on Collymore’s successor had not yet been made. “For clarity,…

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1,117 total views, no views today BY  JOAN WANJIKU,NAIROBI,27TH APRIL, 2019-Tullow oil the company that  has been undertaking oil exploration in Turkana  county says it is still continuing  to target a Final Investment Decision (FID) in Kenya by year-end although this remains an ambitious target.In  a statement sent to newsrooms on Thursday morning the company says its is  finalising its FEED studies for both the upstream and midstream, and both the upstream and midstream ESIAs remain on track for submission to the National Environmental Management Agency at the end of the…

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1,110 total views, no views today HONG KONG, Hong Kong, April 23, 2019-Global premier mobile phone brand TECNO Mobile (www.TECNO-mobile.com) lately launched a new dawn into the smartphone ecosystem with the release of a new camera-centric smartphone series – SPARK 3 and SPARK 3 Pro.  As one of the most remarkable devices to “light up” your photos, the newly released have been upgraded by AI technology to furthermore advanced the camera features. The SPARK 3 is the third installment from the SPARK series, and as expected, the device embodies the impeccability of…

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1,440 total views, no views today BY CORRESPONDENT,18TH APRIL 2019-Safaricom has launched this year’s Smartphone campaign that will be introducing the most affordable 4G devices in Kenya ;-  Neon Ray and Neon Nova, in a bid to deliver a digital lifestyle experience for its customers who are currently not on smartphones. Customers will now have more options for phone upgrades through convenient payment plans and personalized data offers in the hope of digitizing 2 million Kenyans. “At Safaricom, we aim to transform lives by providing solutions to our customers. With these affordable…

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822 total views, no views today BY JOAN WANJIKU,NAIROBI,18TH APRIL 2019-The Kenya Commercial Bank has offered to buy out the National Bank of Kenya.If implemented ,the deal will see Kenya’s biggest bank by asset base become the biggest lender in the region. In a statement  on Thursday , the bank said  it had made an offer to acquire 100 percent of the ordinary shares of NBK. Both KCB and NBK are listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). “KCB proposes to make the acquisition through a share swap of 10 ordinary…

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1,392 total views, no views today  BY CORRESPONDENT,NAIROBI,11TH APRIL 2019-Huawei Mobile Kenya has launched their latest P30 Series flagship phones in the Kenyan market. The introduction of the P 30 Series – P30 Pro, P30 and P30 Lite – is part of the company’s agenda to build an interconnected world, through product innovation and to offer competitive products for discerning consumers across segments. The Huawei P30 Series will retailat Kshs 99,999 for the P30 Pro, Kshs 72,999 for the P30 and Kshs 29,999 for the P30 Lite. A signature feature of…

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2,340 total views, no views today BY CORRESPONDENT,NAIROBI,29TH MARCH 2019-Huawei has released its 2018 Annual Report indicating that the company maintained strong business growth in 2018. Its sales revenue rounded off at CNY721.2 billion, up 19.5% year-on-year; its net profit reached CNY59.3 billion, up 25.1% year-on-year. In 2018, Huawei invested CNY101.5 billion (14.1% of its sales revenue) in R&D, ranking fifth globally in The 2018 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard. Over the last ten years, Huawei’s R&D expenditure has reached more than CNY480 billion. According to official data released by the World…

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2,593 total views, 4 views today BY JOAN WANJIKU,NAIROBI,27TH MARCH 2019-Catholic church owned Waumini Sacco society limited has  approved Dividends payment of Kshs 23,034,061 at a rate of 9.25% on the share capital and Interest of Kshs 244,629,023 at the rate of 8.25% on members’ deposits to members who were in the register as at 31st December 2018. The rate of dividends and interest on members’ deposits for year 2018 was lower than for year 2017 because of compliance with regulatory requirements. The SACCO retained Kshs 65,554,900 as 2018 reserves compared to Kshs…

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1,275 total views, no views today BY  JOAN WANJIKU,NAIROBI,22ND MARCH 2019-Safaricom has added over 60,000 subscribers  within a period of  4 months from December last year to pass the 30 million customer milestone. Accoring to the company’s  Chief Customer Officer Sylvia Mulinge, the milestone reflects a vote of confidence in the company’s purpose of transforming lives. “We would like to thank each of our more than 30 million customers for choosing Safaricom as their preferred network which has contributed to our achievement of this remarkable and historic milestone,” said Mulinge. The…

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1,094 total views, 1 views today BY JOAN WANJIKU,NAIROBI,21ST MARCH 2019,KCB Bank Kenya Limited has signed a deal with Morocco’s giant lender Attijariwafa Bank Group to drive cross-border trade and deepen financial inclusion. The agreement inked in Casablanca is expected to help promote the sharing of best practices in the banking, financial and business in East and North Africa. The collaboration between the two largest banks in their respective regions will be anchored in the crucial digital and mobile banking. This will also see the establishment of a correspondent banking relationship to enable…

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1,094 total views, no views today BY CORRESPONDENT,NAIROBI,21ST MARCH 2019-Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) has announced a 9 percent increase in pre-tax profit to Kshs 11 billion for the year ended 31 December 2018, a record for the Kenya-based regional banking group. The bank’s assets grew to Kshs 378 billion, 4% higher than the previous year, driven mainly by growth in customer deposits which went up to Kshs 283 billion, an increase of 6% over the previous year. Nasim Devji, DTB’s Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are pleased…

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1,465 total views, 1 views today BY CORRESPONDENT,NAIROBI,12TH MARCH 2019- Huawei Mobile Kenya has today launched Y6 2019 in the market which will be retailing at Kshs 13,499 across all retail stores in the country.  The Y 6 2019 features sleek, rounded curves carefully crafted in the shape of the screen, compared to the many wide rectangle shaped notches currently available in the market.  All purchases will come with a gift hamper that entails selfie stick, foldable bags and Bluetooth speakers or mugs in select stores. Y6 2019 one of Huawei’s midrange…

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1,364 total views, no views today  BY JOAN WANJIKU,NAIROBI,11TH MARCH 2019-Standard Chartered Bank customers have a reason to smile after the bank launched SC Mobile Digital Bank for its retail customers with enhanced features at a cost of Sh83.4 million. The new platform will allow clients to open an account in less than 15 minutes, transact, save, borrow, invest, insure and protect their wealth online without having to visit a branch. The digital bank platform will provide over 68 services on your phone including; updating account information, activate or stop card, bill…

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1,684 total views, no views today BY JOAN WANJIKU/CORRESPONDENT,NAIROBI,8TH MARCH 2019-Sidian Bank has signed a deal with The Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU), a Danish Development Finance Institution (DFI) that will see the bank receive $12 million (Sh1.2b) Tier 2 capital injection as part of the broader initiative to grow the bank to Tier 2 status. The funds are expected to boost the bank’s regulatory capital ratios as it works towards achieving its strategic objective of becoming a Tier 2 bank by 2022 The shareholders of the bank approved a…

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795 total views, no views today BY JOAN WANJIKU,NAIROBI,7TH MARCH 2019-Nairobi commuters are set to commute less strenuously after a local ICT company MobiTill Epesi Smart Transport Solution,unveiled a mobile application system that aims to streamline public transport the same way ride-sharing apps have done with the taxi transport .     The company’s Chief Executive Officer Mary Mwangi says the app will schedule matatus and buses in Nairobi which will, in turn, reduce congestion at the terminus. “We launched Epesi trip planner because we believe it’s a big game changer, especially…

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728 total views, no views today BY CORRESPONDENT,NAIROBI,7TH MARCH 2019-Huawei has filed a complaint in a U.S. federal court challenging the constitutionality of Section 889 of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Through its latest move the premier handset manufacturer seeks a declaratory judgment that the restrictions targeting Huawei are unconstitutional, and a permanent injunction against these restrictions. “The U.S. Congress has repeatedly failed to produce any evidence to support its restrictions on Huawei products. We are compelled to take this legal action as a proper and last resort,” Guo…

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653 total views, no views today BY CORRESPONDENT,NAIROBI,6TH MARCH 2019– Huawei Mobile Kenya is set to launch its newest phone Y6 2019 into the Kenyan market next week. The campaign kicks off with a price guess in partnership with Kilimall from 5th of March to 11th of March, where consumers are encouraged to visit Kilimall website and get chance to guess and win a phone. https://www.kilimall.co.ke/huawei-y6-prime-2019 Y6 2019 one of Huawei’s midrange devices is the second device to be launched in the market in 2019 following recent launch of Y7 Prime 2019 that has seen…

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422 total views, no views today BY CORRESPONDENT,NAIROBI,6TH MARCH 2019-KCB Group has posted a profit of Sh24 billion for the full year 2018, a 22 percent increase from the results posted in similar period in the year 2017. According to the results released on Wednesday morning ,the remarkable performance was majorly contributed by among other factors increased revenue across funded and non-funded streams and cost management initiatives. Interest income, fees and commissions contributed the lion’s share of the bank’s Sh71.8 billion operating income. According to KCB Group Chief Executive Joshua Oigara…

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919 total views, no views today Barcelona, Spain, February 26, 2019-Rain, South Africa’s mobile data-only network operator, announced that it has launched the first 5G commercial network in South Africa in partnership with Huawei, the leading global ICT solutions provider. The announcement was made at the 2019 Mobile World Congress (MWC 2019). This move has made South Africa one of the first countries globally to launch 5G. With Huawei’s end-to-end 5G solutions, rain has been able to build the 5G network using its 3.6GHz spectrum. In the first phase of roll out,…

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