According to reports, the Kenyan shareholders of multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer; Choppies, will bailout the the Kenyan branch to settle part of its supplier debt currently estimated at 600 million Kenyan Shillings. This is in line with its plan to restock its stores and inject life into the firm in an effort to revive the business. According to the retailer (Choppies) it’s local shareholder Export Trading Group (ETG) which has a 25 percent stake, has come up with a recapitalisation plan which will enable it restock its shelves as suppliers get their cash in three parts. According to…
Author: Tobey
Nurses in Kenya have threatened to undergo another strike which will effectively cripple operations in 35 counties from the evening of Monday the 12th Of August 2019. The decision is as a result of delays in the payment of their July salaries. The Secretary General of the Kenya National Union of Nurses Seth Panyako, made it known on Thursday the 8th of August 2019, that only health workers in 12 of the 47 counties in Kenya, have been paid. The Secretary General Seth Panyako stated that, “We have declared total war with these counties if they do not pay nurses…
Betting giant Sportpesa, has announced that it would be canceling its sports sponsorships. The company made this known via a notice issued to all clubs s well as its partners. The betting firm made it known that the move was as a result of suffering immense pressure from the Betting Control and Licensing Board in Kenya. A media statement from Sportpesa, made it known that harsh actions from the regulator (Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB)), which include a delayed license renewal as well as the suspension of its pay bill numbers, crippled its business operations. The withdrawal of Sportpesa’s…
East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) has laid off 800 employees in the company, in an attempt to create a much leaner workforce in order to trim the company’s wage bills. On Thursday the 8th of August 2019 the acting managing director of East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) Stephen Nthei, made it known that the roles previously handled by the sacked employees, will be merged and salaries subsequently reduced to keep the cement manufacturer afloat. Mr. Stephen Nthei is quoted as saying that, “We have a workforce whose total cost, compared to the productivity, is very high. Our target…
The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) has unveiled a 30 year Master Plan worth 360 billion Kenyan Shillings. The Master Plan, is aimed at transforming shipping and logistics in major ports, small coastal ports, lake ports as well as inland container depots. The Managing Director of the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) Daniel Manduku, made it known that the total investment of 360 billion Kenyan Shillings ($3.6 billion) will include 210 billion Kenyan Shillings ($2.1 billion) for Lamu and 150 billion Kenyan Shillings ($1.5 billion) for Mombasa, adding that existing infrastructure will be expanded and modernized such as the construction of new…
According to Kenyan Wallstreet, East African Breweries Limited (EABL), has made it known that it will invest 22 billion Kenyan Shillings on biomass power, solar energy and water recovery. The project will also include an upfront investment of 6.5 billion Kenyan Shillings in solar, water treatment, and biomass equipment followed by an additional 15 billion Kenyan Shillings in long term capital investments for the ongoing maintenance and operations. The Diageo subsidiary, will switch to renewable energy i.e biomass boilers which will be heated by woodchip, bamboo, and rice husks to eliminate the heavy fuel oil in its production process. The…
Telecommunications Giant; Safaricom, has invested 407 million Kenyan Shillings in its mobile money transfer business; M-Pesa as part of the company’s efforts to expand the usage of the platform. The investment was made via Instaconnect Limited, a subsidiary which Safaricom acquired in 2010 and previously provided content services. Safaricom in its latest annual report, “The company rolled out the international money transfer business through its 100 percent owned subsidiary, Instaconnect Limited, and injected additional capital by acquiring assets worth 397 million Kenyan Shillings and a cash transfer of 10 million Kenyan Shillings.” “We expect that due to the above investment,…
Workers across Kenya have received 6.13 billion Kenyan Shillings in lower payroll taxes as an added benefit of the expansion of the Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) bands and the increase of the minimum taxable income. According to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) the policy measure, reduced the payroll tax base for the year ended June 2019. It has been enforced for the second year running from January 2018. In January 2018, the Treasury expanded the Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) tax bands by 10 percent, which raised the effective tax-free income threshold from 12,260 Kenyan Shillings to 13,486 Kenyan Shillings per month. This is after…
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is under fire over its triggering of the freezing of bank accounts belonging to major betting firms despite a court order which was intended to prevent the freeze. Last week the betting firms which include SportPesa and Betin, told Parliament that by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) pushing for the withdrawal of the betting firms’ licenses and freezing of their bank accounts, it went against the court order and the law. Betin Kenya told the Senate Committee on Justice, Legal and Human Rights that, “Despite a High Court order against the KRA, various agency notices…
The penalty for filing annual tax returns past the June 30th deadline is set to reduce under the proposed changes to the Tax law, a decision which will in turn, boost the savings for homes and businesses which pay taxes on time. If the amendment of Tax Procedures Act 2015 is approved by legislators and subsequently agreed to by President Uhuru Kenyatta, the fine for late tax filing, will now be based on the amount which has not been paid to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). This is a far cry from the current law where the penalty for late…
Kenyan low cost airline; Jambojet, is scheduled to increase the number of its flights to the Coastal towns of Malindi, Mombasa, and Ukunda (Diani)) this August (2019) The Kenyan Airways subsidiary which was recently awarded the coveted IATA Operational Safety Audit registration, will operate 48 weekly flights to Mombasa a figure slightly higher than the previous standing of 40 weekly flights. Ukunda (Diani) and Malindi as well, will have three additional weekly flights moving their number of flights to twice daily. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Jambojet; Allan Kilavuka stated that, “August is a peak season, which means increased numbers…
The founding Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Safaricom; Michael Joseph, has reportedly sold off all of his shares in the company. In its annual report telecommunications company; Safaricom, made it known that Michael Joseph sold all the shares he held in the company over the course of the company’s financial year ending in March 2019. The founding Chief Executive Officer (CEO) sold 1.17 million shares worth over 31 million Kenyan Shillings according to Safaricom’s current share price of 27 Kenyan Shillings. Due to the sale, Joseph will miss a total dividend of KSh1.87 per share proposed at the AGM held…
According to Business Daily Africa, and under new rules created to rate the ability of establishments to repay debts, directors and key shareholders of companies who default on commercial loans they take, will be submitted to Credit Reference Bureaus (CRBs). A new arrangement which will be filled by lenders, intends to link the directors, main shareholders, partners and trustees of corporate borrowers in order to conduct due diligence on companies and also establish the identity of owners. Individuals who hold at least 10 percent stake in a company seeking loans will also be listed on Credit Reference Bureaus (CRBs) along…
Diageo Africa Business Service Centre (ABSC) which is the major shareholder in East African Breweries Limited (EABL) in a move expected to lead to the laying off of more than 100 employees, is set to shut down its Nairobi based business support center and outsource the services. The British multinational’s restructuring plan, it has outsourced all its accounting, analytical and financial work to Bangalore, Budapest, Hungary and India. Diageo in a statement made it known that, “the business services requirements and processes across Diageo Africa are changing and as such Diageo will be conducting a review of the centre to…
