On Friday the 12th Of July 2019 telecommunications giant; Safaricom, officially suspended the M-Pesa Paybill accounts for SportPesa, Betin and other betting firms, two days after the Kenyan government issued a directive. Since Friday, users of said betting companies, have been unable to load funds into their betting wallets, due to a directive by the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB), despite court orders which suspended the move. The Kenyan High Court early last week, suspended the decision by the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) to withdraw the operating license of Gamcode Limited, which currently operates as Betin Kenya.…
Author: Tobey
Following the Kenyan government’s decision to revise the rate of excise duty on such products, the prices of consumer goods such as beer, cigarettes, fruity drinks, fuel, and sugar confectioneries are set to go up. The excise duty on illuminating kerosene has spiked up from 10,305 Kenyan Shillings, to 10,835.70 per 1000 litres, while the excise duty on diesel oil has moved from 3,700 Kenyan Shillings to 3,890.55 Kenyan Shillings per 1000 liters. The excise tax on motorcycles popularly known as Boda Bodas, spiked up by 541 Kenyan Shillings, to hit 11,061 Kenyan Shillings per unit from 10,520 Kenyan Shillings.…
According to Business Daily Africa, heavy domestic debt maturities have cut the stock of outstanding Treasury bills further, which now account for 34.2 percent of the total domestic debt compared to 36.7 percent at the beginning of May 2019. Data from the Central Bank of Kenya, shows that the Treasury bills stock stood at 954.25 billion Kenyan Shillings at the end of June 2019, down by 49.3 billion Kenyan Shillings from the all-time high stock of 1.003 trillion Kenyan Shillings at the beginning of May 2019. While investors have reportedly been bidding heavily in the weekly auctions which have gone…
Traders in Kenya, have reported spent nearly 5.39 billion Kenyan Shillings on the importation of shoes and second-hand clothes in the first three months of 2019. According to Business Daily Africa, official data shows, that the 5.39 billion Kenyan Shillings figure, is a growth of 366.30 million Kenyan Shillings from over a year prior. The 7.29 percent growth is a sign of the elevated demand for imported shoes and second-hand clothes despite Kenya’s renewed focus on growing its domestic leather and textiles industries via the nation’s ‘Big Four’ plan. The import bill for second-hand clothes, which are popularly known as…
The Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB), has ordered telecommunications giant; Safaricom to suspend M-Pesa paybill accounts and SMS short codes for 27 betting firms including SportPesa and Betin because the operating licenses for the year starting on the 1st of July 2019, were not renewed. Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) claims that the 27 firms have not yet met the licensing requirements which are currently undisclosed, adding that they are being vetted to establish if they are fit to hold gambling permits. The Gambling regulator’s order comes just weeks after the State said it had refused to renew…
Regulators of the mobile and financial sectors, have warned against the Parliament’s plan to split the popular mobile money transfer service; M-Pesa, from telecommunications company; Safaricom . The Central Bank Of Kenya (CBK), Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) on wednesday the 10th of July, asked MPs to be cautious in their efforts to separate mobile money services such as M-Pesa, Airtel Money and T-Kash from their parent mobile telecommunication companies. The warning comes as MPs (Members Of Parliament), prepare to debate the Kenya Information Communications (Amendment) Bill of 2019. The bill…
National Bank has informed all of its shareholders that they have until the end of July 2019 to submit their offer acceptance forms for the proposed takeover by KCB bank. The takeover deal will only be considered successful after the National Bank Of Kenya’s shareholders with a 75 percent stake in the bank, accept the offer. KCB Group intends to acquire 1,473,781,200 ordinary shares of NBK in exchange for 147,378,120 KCB shares. Once the acquisition is completed, investors at National Bank, will hold a 4.59 per cent stake in KCB Group. Oraro & Company Advocates and Miller & Company Advocates…
How old were you when you found out that it is illegal to use images of the Kenyan currency notes, whether current or historical, without first seeking the approval of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK)? Oh you didn’t know? Well the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has announced that it is illegal to publish photos or videos of the country’s currency without prior permission from the financial institution. I’m a notice which was published recently, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) cautioned individuals in Kenya against taking photos of bank notes or posing with the money in photos or…
Betting firm Betin Kenya has secured a temporary reprieve, following the High Court’s suspension of the decision to withdraw the firm’s licence. High Court judge Weldon Korir, suspended the decision by the Betting and Licensing Board on the 1st of July 2019, to deny Gamcode Limited (which is trading as Betin Kenya), access to renew its licence. In an industry where more than 200 billion Kenyan Shillings is generated from annual sales, Betin Kenya is easily the second largest betting firm in Kenya after SportPesa. Judge Weldon Korir stated that, “A conservatory order be and is hereby issued staying or…
Telecommunications giant; Safaricom, has cut its internet data prices by 42 percent. According to Business Daily Africa, the price cuts are in response to the increase in competition in Kenya’s telecommunications industry. Safaricom’s South Africa based shareholder; Vodacom, also revealed in its recent filings that its Kenyan arm; Safaricom made the largest price cuts. Safaricom is among the group of Vodacom associates and subsidiaries who reduced their data charges. Vodacom’s subsidiaries in DR Congo, Lesotho, South Africa and Tanzania, lowered their data by 29.2 percent, 28.9 percent, 23.3 percent and 13.8 percent respectively. The telecommunications company added that it anticipates…
According to The Star, Del Monte Kenya has invested 580 million Kenyan Shillings in a new fresh fruit packing facility which will have a processing capacity of 60 tonnes of fresh fruit per year. The new facility being constructed within Del Monte Kenya’s plantation, is scheduled to be completed in August 2019 and will expand the company’s production of avocados, mangoes, passion fruits, and pineapple fruit juices. Managing Director of Del Monte; Stergios Gkaliamoutsas, said, “Del Monte Kenya plans to source fruit from local and regional growers in Murang’a and Kiambu Counties, we will prepare and package the products…
Manufacturers are ready to begin carrying out big cargo deliveries in and out of Nairobi, via Sendy, which is an online logistics firm in a new deal. Sendy’s partnership with the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), is aimed at slashing the transportation costs of manufacturers by using technology and will see it target manufacturers doing big load cargo deliveries across the country. The move comes as manufacturers within Kenya continue to shoulder high costs of transportation, with flat rates per truck nationwide going as high as 60,000 Kenyan Shillings, regardless of their size of cargo and distance. The high costs…
East Africa’s very first Derivatives Market in East Africa, has begun trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The derivatives market which is the number 2 in Africa will enable investors to diversify their investments, manage risk, and deploy funds more efficiently. Apart from the numerous benefits to traders, the platform will also position Kenya as a leading financial hub, thus attracting additional international investors. According to Kenyan Wallstreet, the Derivates Market will consist of a Clearinghouse, Clearing members (which are Banks and Financial Institutions licensed by CBK), Trading members (which are Brokers and Investment Banks), and Clients (which are Institutional…
Another round of Huduma Namba registration, is currently in the works. Spokesman for the Kenyan government; Cyrus Oguna, made it known on Thursday the 4th of July 2019, that the new round of registrations, will be done for individuals who missed out on the extended period. The retired colonel (Cyrus Oguna), stated that after the mass registration ended on the 25th of May 2019, millions of people were left out even after a one week extension announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta, as many of the individuals who were unable to register did not have national Identification Cards and birth certificates…
