On Wednesday the 21st of October 2020, President Uhuru Kenyatta oversaw the launching of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK)’s Kisii Centre. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK)’s Kisii Centre will be benefit seven counties in the region. These counties include Bomet, Kericho, Migori, Narok, Nyamira, Homa Bay, and of course Kisii. It is expected to help individuals in the region get access to a vast array of services easier and more conveniently as opposed to having to commute to other regions just to get access to said services. For a region that contributes around 12 percent of Kenya’s Gross…
Author: Tobey
When the forex markets closed on the 19th of October 2020 the Kenyan Shilling broke the 109 point against the United States dollar to reach 109.2100 Kenyan Shillings. Dealers in the forex markets however quoted the Kenyan Shilling at far lower rates, as an increase in the demand for import, beat the earnings from foreign exchange brought on via the exporting of tea, horticulture as well as other exports. The Bloomberg Markets’ United State Dollar to Kenyan Shilling Exchange Rate revealed that the Kenyan Shilling began trading at 108.6000 Kenyan Shillings to the dollar which is slightly stronger than the…
According to data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics the value of exports from the East African nation of Kenya, increased by 20 billion Kenyan Shillings to an impressive 423.3 billion Kenyan Shillings despite the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, making it larger than the amount achieved during the same period in 2019. Beverages and foods like coffee, tea, vegetables and fruits were the products that were exported the most, with industrial exports that were not food, constituting a smaller portion of the nation’s exports. The destinations which were the major export markets for Kenyan goods in no particular order were…
The financial year for 2019, saw MultiChoice pay a total of 17.5 million dollars (1.9 billion Kenyan Shillings) in direct taxes and 69.6 million dollars (7.56 billion Kenyan Shillings) in indirect taxes. By the end of the same 2019 financial year period, MultiChoice had provided 573.8 million dollars (62.4 billion Kenyan Shillings) in both direct and indirect investments into Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 1st of April 2015 to 31st of March 2019. Records from MultiChoice revealed that the company has for the last five (5) years, pumped 203.6 million dollars (22.14 billion Kenyan Shillings) into its operation chain…
According to The Banker’s Top 100 African Banks ranking for 2020 Equity, is now ranked among the top 10 banks in Africa. The financial institution, achieved this impressive feat with a score of 5.82 in the overall category of the Best Performing Banks, coming in at 7th place. This makes Equity the very first bank in both Eastern and Central Africa to achieve the feat. The rankings for 2020, reflect the stability in finances of a large number of major lenders in Africa. The ranking essentially monitors the wealth and health of the banking sector in Africa, and also utilizes…
Yahoo had announced that it will be shutting down its Yahoo Groups on Tuesday the 15th of December 2020. The decision will be putting an end to a legacy that has been going strong for 20 years. The web services provider in a statement said, “We launched Yahoo Groups 20 years ago to connect people around their shared interests. We helped our users navigate new towns, keep in touch with college friends, learn new skills, and most importantly, build connections they may have lost or never had in the first place. While we could not have been more proud of…
The Four Points Sheraton Nairobi Airport hotel, has been crowned the best hotel in the Africa and Arabia region at the recently concluded International Hotel Awards. It was named the overall winner and bagged the official title of the Best Luxury Airport Hotel in Africa. Four Points Sheraton Nairobi was also crowned the Best Airport Hotel For Kenya. The award which is arriving at a time when much of the hospitality sector all over the world is battling severe drops in tourism and travel as a result of the ongoing pandemic, is seen as a sign of greater things to…
On the Tuesday the 13th of October 2020 technology giant; Apple announced its latest flagship smartphones; the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini. Both devices which will be sold alongside the more expensive and more higher end iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone Pro Max, come with powerful features, have quite affordable prices and are perfect for users who are not really keen on the camera features fitted into the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro max. The iPhone 12 which is a 6.1 inch device is the successor to the iPhone 11. The iPhone 12 Mini on the other…
The Kenya Port Authority has revealed that the completion date of completion for the Lamu Port has been pushed from December of 2020 which was the date previously announced, to December 2021. The chairman of the Kenya Ports Authority’s board; Joseph Kibwana, made it known that the contractor for the Lamu Port has asked for more time giving disruptions caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as the reasons for the requested extension. The Kenya Ports Authority’s board chairman also added that the contractor had redrawn plans on how to adequately handle their workforce earlier in the year, as the coronavirus…
Popular low cost carrier; has begun carrying out direct flights to from Mombasa to Kisumu and Eldoret. The very first flight took off on Friday the 9th of October 2020, with a starting cost of 8,900 Kenyan Shillings for a one way ticket. The Acting Managing Director of Jambojet; Karanja Ndegwa while speaking during the official launch at the Kisumu International Airport, revealed that the newly introduced direct flights between Mombasa, Kisumu and Eldoret, will play very vital roles in connecting holiday goers and business individuals who prefer to travel between those three destinations conveniently and easily. The Acting Manager…
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) together with the multi-agency team that is charged with fighting illicit trade, has seized over 1,600 cartons of alcoholic products with fake excise stamps. The alcohol products, which were packed in 10 litre bottles and branded; ‘Fiesta Special Ice’, have a total market value of 12 million Kenyan Shillings. They were were impounded at a Thika-based plant in Kiambu County. The multi-agency team had received intelligence information which revealed that a six wheeler lorry was carrying alcoholic drinks with excise stamps that were suspected to be fake. The lorry was subsequently intercepted. Upon further verification…
American mobile payment, financial services and merchant services aggregator; Square Inc, has purchased Bitcoin worth 50 million dollars (5.4 billion Kenyan Shillings). The company via a statement, revealed that it looks at cryptocurrency as “an instrument of economic empowerment.”, adding that cryptocurrency aids in the increase of inclusivity with regards to the global monetary system which really is one of its uses. The purchase by the company which is led by Twitter’s founder; Jack Dorsey, constitutes of 4,709 bitcoins and is 1 percent of Square’s assets by the end of the second quarter. This investment is proof of the financial…
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has introduced a Digital Service Tax (DST). This new tax which will officially begin on the 1st of January 2021 according to the Finance Act of 2020, is aimed at all businesses that operate in the digital market sector. Digital Service Tax (DST), is 1.5 percent of the total transaction value and will be due at the time of transfer of payment for the service or goods made available the provider or business. With the Digital Service Tax (DST) all businesses with operations in the digital sector will pay the tax on all income derived…
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), has launched a brand new mobile application. This mobile app will make it possible for taxpayers to be able utilize tax services directly from their smartphones. With the mobile app called the ‘KRA M-Service App’ all users will be able to carry out PIN registration as well as the required verification processes. Users will also be able to carry out their tax payments and also file returns directly from the KRA M-Service App. The KRA M-Service App is available to and can be utilized by any taxpayer. All you need to do is have an…
