Microsoft has become the third United States (US) company to pass a market cap of $1 trillion (an eye boggling 101.4 trillion Kenyan Shillings), helping the company join Amazon and Apple in the coveted $1 trillion upper class, ahead of its rival Google. The software and tech giant passed the milestone briefly on Thursday April 25th 2019, after a jump in its stock price following the company’s very strong fiscal earnings in Q3 (thanks to Surface, Windows and Xbox), with Microsoft reporting a revenue of $30.6 billion (3.1 trillion Kenyan Shillings) and a net income of $8.8 billion (892.6 billion…
Author: Tobey
The Treasury is seeking approval from the members of parliament (MPs) for 50.6 billion Kenyan Shillings, to complete construction of the second phase of the standard gauge railway (SGR) which will run from Nairobi to Naivasha. It is currently, 90 percent complete. The request was made via the supplementary budget which the Parliamentary Budget Committee is currently reviewing. James Macharia, the Transport Cabinet Secretary, said the cash request is for the second leg of the new railway line. Speaking with Business Daily, Mr. Macharia added that “The 50 billion Kenyan Shillings we are seeking approval from Treasury is for construction…
According to Kenyan Wallstreet, the Kenya Revenue Authority has improved the process of acquiring tax compliance certificates for Kenyans. The KRA says, taxpayers will now have a better experience applying for the compliance documents. The government body in addition, will be able to issue the certificates within a shorter time. Under the new system, the KRA will automatically check tax compliance status using data from iTax. Applicants who have not complied with the KRA rules will not be able to proceed with their application until they resolve all outstanding matters. The revenue collecting agency, advises taxpayers to pay their tax…
East African Breweries Limited (EABL) has said it will increase the prices of its products if the Treasury implements a proposal intended to raise the corporate tax from 30 percent to 35 percent for firms with annual income of more than 500 million Kenyan Shillings. The managing director for Kenya Breweries Limited; Jane Karuku says a tax increase will be a shock to the business, given that the sector is already one of the most heavily taxed in the country. “Going to 35 per cent will be a shock to us and counter-productive for business. We are among the…
Reports by 9to5Mac, claim that Apple is planning to merge its Find my iPhone service, with its Find my Friends service, making them both into a single app. The ‘new’ service will have the ability to track an expanded range of devices, thanks to a new hardware product that is expected to compete with the likes of Tile (which is a tiny Bluetooth trackerand easy-to-use app that locates everyday items-like your phone, keys, and wallet-in seconds) and will reportedly be released on both iOS and macOS as a Marzipan based application. The new service will reportedly be able to…
A joint venture between the government and British banknotes and security printer De La Rue officially commenced on Thursday April 18th 2019. This was made public via an announcement by the London Stock Exchange (LSE)-listed multinational. The Kenyan government, acquired a 40 percent stake in De La Rue Kenya EPZ Limited, which is the Kenyan subsidiary of the British multinational, for 660 million Kenyan Shillings. The commencement of the joint venture properly positioned the government in such a way that they can share in the earnings made by the currency printer, which was last year handed a three-year contract of…
Citi (an initiative developed by experts in the IRB community), in its most recent research, has reviewed Safaricom shares from ‘buy’ to ‘neutral’ and increased the target price from 27 Kenyan Shillings to 28.8 Kenyan Shillings based on its research findings. It (Citi), rates Safaricom as a growth company whose revenues are expected to keep expanding mainly driven by income from data and M-Pesa services. The leading telecommunications firm is expecting an increase in revenues from its e-commerce and payments platform in the future. According to Citi, the mobile operator’s net profits for 2019 are projected to jump up…
An announcement by CBA Group has made it known that is the final stages of the merger with National Industrial Credit (NIC) bank. The bank added that its shareholders have approved of the union with the listed institution during the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on 16th April 2019. Prior to this, NIC had received acceptance of the offer from 29 of the 34 CBA Shareholders holding an aggregate 99.07% of the issued shares in CBA. In a notice issued by the bank, the two financial companies have so far met the conditions on the Merger Agreement document and…
Nation Media Group (NMG) has cut its dividend in half after a sharp fall in its full year 2018 income. The media firm also made it known to its investors, that its strategy to monetize its digital footprint would take time. Net income for the period fell by 21.8 per cent to 1.035 Billion Kenyan Shillings while pretax profit fell by 16.4 percent. The media house giant, attributed the decline to a operating environment that became difficult particularly in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, which are its main markets. Wilfred Kiboro, Nation Media Group’s chairman, stated that the print business, which…
Cuban doctors deployed to counties that border Somalia are reportedly leaving their stations due to fear after their colleagues were kidnapped in Mandera and taken to Somalia. Over the weekend, two specialists posted to Lamu and Tana River left in a huff as the government evacuated medics attached to Wajir and Garissa counties. Lamu County’s Health Executive Anne Gathoni, corroborated the news saying on Monday; “It is true. The two Cuban doctors travelled out of Lamu abruptly over the weekend,”. She added that “The Mandera incident is really traumatising them and that is why they are seeking guidance and counselling.…
According to the latest statistical estimates by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kenya’s economy is expected to reach the 10.1 trillion Kenyan Shillings mark this year. This will be the East African nation’s largest absolute expansion in recent times, with its gross domestic product (GDP) estimated to increase by 1.1 trillion Kenyan Shillings from 9 trillion Kenyan Shillings in 2018. In terms of percentages, Kenya’s growth this year is estimated reach 5.83 percent, a slight decrease from 5.95 percent last year. If the IMF projections come to fruition, Business Daily Africa says Kenya’s economy could grow to 15.7 trillion Kenyan…
Disney’s streaming platform; Disney Plus will officially launch on the 12th of November 2019, for $7 (707 Kenyan Shillings) a month, and $70 (7,070 Kenyan Shillings) a year if you get an annual subscription. That is according to cnet.com. Disney revealed the launch date and price on Thursday the 11th of April 2019, while shedding light on the streaming service’s exclusive shows, which will feature a vast library of content, ranging from Pixar to Star Wars, and Marvel Studios to National Geographic. It will also be home to what will definitely be an ever expanding range of original content, from…
The United States government has listed Kenya among the global kidnapping hotspots in a new risk indicator that Washington DC has introduced for travel advisories. The latest move adds yet another challenge to Kenya’s tourism sector. On Tuesday, The Department of State, which is in charge of foreign affairs, stated that the new assessment measure was been informed by cases of “kidnapping and hostage taking by criminal and terrorist actors around the world”. About 35 countries including Kenya have been hit with the updated advisories which include the risk of kidnapping. The United States, was the leading source of foreign…
