Weekly Trade Round Up

TRADE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES ROUND-UP

KENYA Banks seek review of law on filing taxes every five days The banking sector wants Parliament to review a new law requiring firms in sectors with a high risk of under-declaring taxes to pay dues every five days. The Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) told

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Trade and Financial Services Round-Up

KENYA Shilling wipes out Sh13bn payout to foreign investors The sharp depreciation of the Kenyan shilling against the dollar has hit foreign-owned firms and investors with steep exchange losses on expatriated dividends and profits, threatening Kenya’s position as a preferred investment destination. An analysis of

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Trade and Financial Services Round-Up

KENYA Investors Suffer Sh5 billion losses in bond sales Bond investors recorded net capital losses of Sh5.1 billion when selling their securities in the secondary market on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) in the year’s second quarter, as prices fell due to rising interest rates

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TRADE & FINANCIAL SERVICES ROUND UP

Kenya The burden of beauty: Wigs, false beards and eyebrows hit with 5pc tax Millions of consumers of beauty products such as wigs and false beards and eyebrows in the country could pay more for the items if the proposal to introduce a five percent

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FINANCIAL SERVICES AND TRADE ROUND-UP

Kenya Rich investors to buy extra shares without CMA approval Investors will be free to buy stakes of up to 30 percent in listed companies without the approval of the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), raising the threshold for notifying the regulator of a potential takeover.

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POLITICAL, TRADE AND REGULATORY ROUND-UP

Kenya Sakaja’s plan to split Nairobi into boroughs to cost Sh2bn The Nairobi City County government will spend a total of Sh2.039 billion to establish five administrative boroughs and run functions in the administrative units as well as the sub-counties, should a county executive budget

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President Ruto saves Airtel Kenya, Amazon from forced stake sale

Kenya President Ruto saves Airtel Kenya, Amazon from forced stake sale Airtel Kenya has been saved from forcibly selling a third of its stake to local investors after US tech giant Amazon successfully lobbied President William Ruto to drop the foreign ownership rules as a

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Taxpayers’ burden of keeping Kenya Kwanza CASs in office

Kenya Taxpayers’ burden of keeping Kenya Kwanza CASs in office Kenyan taxpayers will spend more than half a billion shillings annually on salaries and benefits for the 50 Chief Administrative Secretaries (CAS) whose names were forwarded to Parliament for approval on Thursday, putting more strain

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24th February 2023 Trade and Financial Services Round Up

Kenya  KRA chief Githii Mburu quits, board names Rispah Simiyu in acting role The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner-General, Githii Mburu, has resigned after a three-year and seven month stint at the seat on the 30th floor of Nairobi’s Times Tower. Recently appointed KRA board

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17th February 2023 Trade and Financial Services Round Up

Kenya Nairobi plans new zoning policy as exclusivity wanes Nairobi is considering a new zoning policy, which will reclassify some estates as residential or mixed-use neighbourhoods at a time some suburbs are coming under pressure from a previous reclassification that has hurt their exclusivity. Speaking

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10th February 2023 Trade and Financial Services Round Up

Kenya KRA set to tax hedging profits under new rules Kenyans engaging in transactions with foreigners to cushion them from volatility in financial markets will now be required to account for any profit realised by non-resident parties and remit tax on the same to the

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16th December 2022 Trade and Financial Services Round Up

Kenya KRA in dilemma over Ruto directive on seizing property The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) faces a legal dilemma in the wake of President William Ruto’s directive to the taxman to go slow on issuing distress orders that trigger asset seizures of suspected tax evaders.

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18th November 2022: Trade and Financial Services Round Up

Kenya Counties with the worst loan defaulters exposed Drought-hit Marsabit, Garissa, Samburu and Isiolo counties have the highest proportion of borrowers defaulting on credit, including dues owed to shopkeepers and shylocks. The rates of default in the four counties ranged between 47 per cent and

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11th November 2022 Trade and Financial Services Round Up

TRADE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES ROUND UP Kenya Kenya eyes 100pc shift to clean energy by 2028 Kenya will fully transition to green energy by 2028, President William Ruto has said. Speaking to CNN, he said continued reliance on fossil fuels was no longer tenable. “I

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4th November Trade and Financial Services Round Up

Kenya Dollar crisis piles pressure on Sh75bn State firms foreign debt State-owned enterprises (SoEs) are sitting on non-guaranteed foreign currency debt worth Sh74.9 billion, exposing them to higher financing costs due to the sharp depreciation of the shilling against the US dollar. The dollar loans

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28th October 2022 Trade and Financial Services Round Up

Kenya Uber, Bolt and Little drivers demand commission cut Taxi drivers signed up on Uber Kenya, Little and Bolt platforms Thursday went on strike in a bid to push the firms to lower the commission charged on fares. Uber charges a 25 percent commission per

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21st October 2022 Trade and Financial Round Up

Kenya President Ruto to reverse Uhuru’s termination of JKIA deal President William Ruto’s administration plans to revive the Sh56 billion airport tender cancelled eight years ago, reversing another major infrastructure decision by former President Uhuru Kenyatta. Roads, Transport and Public Works Cabinet Secretary nominee Kipchumba

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14th October 2022 Trade and Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Treasury disowns official papers on Sh1.3bn China fine for SGR loans The Treasury Thursday disowned an official statement indicating that Chinese lenders penalised Kenya Sh1.312 billion for delayed payments of loans provided to build the standard gauge railway (SGR). Treasury Secretary Ukur Yatani maintained

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7th Octoberr 2022 Trade and Financial Services Round Up

ANDA Rwanda, EU sign Rwf72.5 billion deal for climate-resilient agriculture The Government of Rwanda and the European Union signed a financing agreement worth €69 million (approx.Rwf72.5 billion) to support climate-smart and inclusive agriculture, on October 6. The three-year financing agreement will be implemented in two

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30th September 2022 Trade and Financial Services Round Up

Kenya CBK raises key lending rate to 8.25pc to curb runaway inflation The Central Bank Monetary Policy Committee has raised the base lending rate from to 7.5 per cent to 8.25 per cent, citing elevated pressure from inflation. The modest increase by 75 basis points

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23 September Trade and Financial Services Round Up

Kenya Treasury asks MPs to unlock Sh39bn county allocations The National Treasury has asked the new Parliament to reintroduce and fast-track a Bill that will unlock Sh39 billion in additional allocations to county governments. Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani said the delayed approval of the

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16th September 2022 Trade and Financial Services Round Up

KENYA State saves Sh9.4 billion from scrapped fuel subsidy The Treasury will save an estimated Sh9.49 billion from the partial withdrawal of fuel subsidies that sent diesel and petrol prices to a historic high. The energy regulator scrapped the subsidy on petrol a day after

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2nd September 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA How budget chief plans to kill false unpaid bills The Controller of Budget (CoB) will not accept fresh payment requests from counties and entities of the national government for the year ended June, in the latest move to curb a surge in fake claims

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26th August 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA NHIF drops bid to have top earners pay more monthly The National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) has dropped its bid to have workers earning more than Sh100,000 pay more in monthly contributions, easing the financial strain on top earners and their employers. The State-backed

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19th August 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA New President inherits half a trillion shillings of unpaid bills Kenya’s new President will inherit more than Sh500 billion owed to suppliers and contractors by ministries and State agencies in bills that have exposed many small and medium-sized businesses to closures and auctions. Latest

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12th August 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA EABL’s Kisumu and Nairobi biomass plants almost ready East African Breweries Plc (EABL) is set to complete the setting up of its biomass-fired energy plants as it accelerates its shift to renewable energy. Diageo Plc, a majority shareholder of EABL, says the Kenya biomass

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5th August 2022 Trade & Financial Service Round Up

KENYA Deloitte fined for Sh2.1bn hidden hole in Chase Bank The capital markets regulator on Wednesday fined Deloitte after the audit firm failed to detect a non-existent Sh2.1 billion Chase Bank account at the Central Bank that enticed bond investors to offer the collapsed lender

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29th July 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Kenya inks cheap power deal with Ethiopia Kenya on Tuesday officially signed a Power Purchase contract with Ethiopia for the purchase of cheap hydroelectric power even as Nairobi nears completing the transmission line to evacuate power from its northern neighbour. Kenya is expected to

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22nd July 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Kenya disowns port deal promises made to Dubai Kenya has disowned promises of a July tender made to Dubai Port (DP) World that would have allowed the UAE-based firm to offer a bid for development, operation and management of the country’s four ports. DP

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15th July 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Biden dumps Uhuru’s trade deal with Trump The Biden administration on Thursday launched a fresh strategic trade and investment partnership with Kenya, replacing an agreement ex-President Donald Trump’s government had inked with Nairobi. The US and Kenyan governments will start work within three months

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8th July 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Safaricom Ethiopia to start operations next month The Safaricom-led consortium aims to start operations in Ethiopia next month but will stagger the rollout of the telecommunication services across various Ethiopian cities until next year. The Safaricom consortium, which also includes British development finance agency

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1st July 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Treasury shuns law set to control goods prices The Treasury will not invoke the law that allows the government to control the prices of essential goods in reaction to the surge in inflation. Treasury Principal Secretary Julius Muia on Wednesday said the State will

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24th June 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Hoteliers, traders jostle for piece of KSh6bn rally windfall Palatial homeowners with spacious grounds in Naivasha are hurriedly setting up tents to cash in on the windfall from the World Rally Championship. With lodging spaces having been problematic during last year’s event, ingenuity is

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17th June 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Grain stuck at Tanzania border due to new import requirement Tanzania has imposed a new requirement on grain traders to get an export permit before shipping maize into the country, in a policy shift that has locked already bought stocks of grain by Kenyan

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10th June 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Kenya FDI declines Kshs 31.5 billion amid rebound in the EAC Kenya’s foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows went against a regional recovery trend in 2021 after falling by $269 million (Kshs 31.47 billion), a United Nations survey showed on Thursday. The UN Conference on

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3rd June 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA New alcohol, SIM card taxes rock Parliament A Member of Parliament affiliated to Deputy President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza coalition on Thursday evening proposed higher taxation on beer and a new duty on imported SIM cards in changes to the Finance Bill 2022 that

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27th May 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA KCB first quarter profit jumps to Sh9.9 billion KCB Group net earnings grew by more than half in the first quarter ended March, helped by higher interest and non-interest income and lower loan loss provisions. The lender’s net profit in the period stood at

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20th May 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Kenya’s debt repayments to China shoot to Sh73.5 billion Kenya’s debt repayments towards China-funded infrastructure projects have more than doubled to a record Sh73.48 billion this financial year on the back of increased clearance of principal sums after the grace period lapsed. Expenditure data

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13th May 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Manufacturers protest new KRA fuel, beer tax powers Manufacturers want the proposed powers to exempt excisable goods like fuel, beer and bottled water from annual price rises due to inflation to be taken away from Kenya Revenue Authority to the lawmakers, citing conflict of

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6th May 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA  Economy grows fastest in 11 years on easing Covid curbs Kenya’s economy rebounded in 2021 to grow at the fastest pace in 11 years on easing of Covid-19 restrictions which boosted recovery in key sectors excluding agriculture whose activities were hit by poor rainfall.

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28th April 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Safaricom gets Sh46bn loan for Addis licence  Standard Chartered Bank Kenya was one of the major banks that lent Safaricom a total of $400 million (Sh46.3 billion) last year, helping the telecom operator pay for its Ethiopian licence. “The $400 million facilities comprised a

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22nd April 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA  Kenya delays talks on 15pc cut in power bills The State is yet to open talks for a review of power purchase agreements signed over the years by Kenya Power, signalling further delay of the promised electricity bill cut for homes and businesses by

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14th April 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Fuel prices to hit highest in Kenya’s history without subsidy Petrol prices will from midnight increase to the highest level in Kenya’s history unless the State subsidises the rising crude oil costs, which may further stoke public outrage over the high cost of living.

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8th April 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA  Taxpayers to deposit 50pc of disputed tax at CBK before suing KRA Firms and individuals fighting the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) in courts over tax demands will have to deposit 50 percent of the disputed amount in a Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) account.

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1st April 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Monetary Policy Committee report indicates strong economic performance amid gnawing global pressure  The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) met on March 29, 2022, against a backdrop of a changed global outlook with heightened geopolitical tensions, volatile commodity prices, the Covid-19 pandemic and measures taken by

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25th March 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Fertiliser crisis looms on Sh5.7bn subsidy row MPs want President Uhuru Kenyatta to order the reinstatement of a Sh5.7 billion fertiliser subsidy that the Treasury has removed from the supplementary budget. The legislators have threatened to paralyse the passage of the Sh138 billion mini-budget

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18th March 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Banks abandon CBK’s SME mobile loans deal  Four lenders selected by the Central Bank of Kenya to give low-cost mobile loans to small businesses under a programme dubbed ‘Stawi’ have abandoned the deal. The Business Daily can reveal that the platform has not issued

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11th March 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA KRA signals peace with Keroche in Sh22bn row The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has signalled concessions for Keroche Breweries after day-long negotiations with the owners of the embattled firm on Thursday over a disputed Sh22.79 billion tax bill. The taxman revealed that a deal

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4th March 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Sanctions block Sh10bn Kenya exports to Russia Kenya’s exports of tea, flowers, coffee and fruits to Russia have been derailed in the wake of sanctions imposed on Moscow by Western nations after its invasion of Ukraine, hurting local smallholder farmers. The blockade of the

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25th February 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA  State pushes to raise debt ceiling to Sh13 trillion in chaotic session Parliament has asked the Treasury to increase the debt ceiling to allow it to borrow Sh846 billion to plug the budget deficit in the next financial year. Majority Leader Amos Kimunya successfully

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18th February 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA  Joint Statement of the Heads of Competition Authorities Dialogue on Regulation of Digital Markets The Heads of Competition Authorities of the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA); the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK); the Competition Commission of Mauritius (Competition Commission); The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection

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11th February 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA CBK tests market with digital Kenya shilling The proposed Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) digital currency will for the first time allow Kenyans to directly keep cash at the apex bank, placing it in direct competition with commercial banks for deposits. The Kenyan version

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4th February 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA  Firms slow down on hiring for first time in nine months Kenyan firms in January slashed expenditure on workers for the first time in nine months, citing a sharp fall in sales compared with December amid the Omicron threat. Findings of Stanbic Bank Kenya’s

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28th January 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Treasury to pay part of defaulted mobile phone loans The Treasury will guarantee mobile phone loans given to small traders in a bid to increase supply of credit under a scheme where the State will also pay part of the defaulted loans. Mobile phone-based

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21st January 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Banks risk Sh27bn as mortgage, matatu loan defaults jump 60pc Car and homeowners defaulted on loans totalling Sh27.8 billion in the 12 months to September last year, giving a peek into the nightmare that the two sectors have become for banks amidst the Covid-19

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14th January 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Disquiet as State fails to pay oil subsidy billionsThe government has defaulted on fuel subsidy billions that continue to be paid under a cloud of secrecy, sparking disquiet among the oil marketing companies ahead of the fresh pricing review to be effected from midnight.

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7th January 2022 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Bond transactions rise to record Sh956 billion The flight to fixed-income investments in the Covid-19 pandemic period swelled transactions in bonds at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) to a record Sh956 billion last year, nearly seven times the value of equities traded on the

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17th December 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA  Oil companies to get Sh8bn for unchanged fuel prices The State will pay oil marketers an estimated Sh8.12 billion ($71.8m) for keeping fuel prices unchanged in the monthly review that will lapse on January 15. Compensation for diesel will be highest at Sh4.82 billion

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10th December 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Kenya paid China Sh29bn to ease debt repayment standoff Kenya wired Sh29.86 billion ($264.4 million) to China in the quarter to September 2021 to ease a standoff over debt repayments that delayed disbursements to projects funded by Chinese loans. Treasury documents reveal that Kenya

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3rd December 2021 Financial and Trade Services Round Up

KENYA Shilling hits all-time low of 112.5 to dollar The shilling has declined to a new all-time low of 112.5 against the dollar as importers increase demand for the greenback with the economy recovering from the impact of the pandemic. Reuters quoted the shilling at

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26th November 2021 Financial & Trade Services Round Up

KENYA Shilling weakens further on rising dollar demand  The shilling ceded further ground to the dollar Wednesday, November 24, trading at a new low of 112.38 units amid the end of month demand for dollars from importers even as supply remained low. It has shed

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19th November 2021 Trade and Financial Services Round Up

KENYA CBK Takes Baby Steps Towards Launch of Digital Currency (Source: Business today) Kenya is exploring the possibility of developing and launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC) to settle cross-border payments, as it seeks to advance the shift to a cashless economy and secure transactions.

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12th November 2021 Trade and Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Kenya’s economy rebounds 10.1%, first double-digit growth in 4 decades (Source: Business Daily) Kenya’s economy expanded 10.1 percent in the second quarter of the year on the back of a rebound in economic activity compared with a similar period last year when tough Covid-19

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5th November 2021 Trade and Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Equity Bank signals plan to buy stake in local rival (Source: Business Daily) Equity Group is ready to acquire a local rival if acquisition targets emerge, marking a shift to its previous strategy of seeking organic growth. Equity Group chief executive James Mwangi said

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29th October 2021 Trade and Financial Services Round Up 

KENYA Kenya slides in credit default rules enforcement survey (Source: Business Daily) Kenya’s failure to enforce rules to reduce credit default risks locking out local and foreign investors in the financial market and reduce the country’s attractiveness for investment, a report has shown. The Absa

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22nd October 2021 Trade and Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Auditor queries CBK law breach over board members (Source: Business Daily) Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu has once again raised concerns over Central Bank of Kenya’s (CBK) legal breach operating with seven instead of 11 directors and the absence of a second deputy governor. Ms Gathungu

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15th October 2021: Trade and Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Economy on path to recovery as banks record 53pc profit increase (Source: Business Daily) Pre-tax profits for banks in the seven months from January to July jumped 53.2 percent and surpassed last year’s full-year earnings, pointing to continued recovery from the Covid-19 downturn with

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8th October 2021: Trade and Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Controller of Budget Releases Implementation Report for June 2020 – June 2021 (Source: Office of the Controller of Budget) As required by the Constitution of Kenya and the Controller of Budget Act, the Office of the Controller of Budget made public the budget implementation

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1 October 2021 Trade and Financial Services Round Up

KENYA The National Treasury Releases the 2021 Tax Expenditure Report The National Treasury has released the 2021 Tax Expenditure Report in accordance with Section 77(a) of the Public Finance Management Act. Markedly, tax expenditures in 2020 were 2.96% of GDP. The analysis revealed that tax

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27th August 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA The 2021 Budget Review and Outlook Paper The 2021 Budget Review and Outlook Paper (BROP) has been prepared against a background of expected global recovery after a  slump  in  2020  occasioned  by  the  negative  effects  of  the COVID-19 pandemic. The global economy is projected

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20th August 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

ETHIOPIA Ethiopia Attracts $3.9 billion FDI in 2020/21 Fiscal Year Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow into Ethiopia reached 3.9 billion US dollars in the recently concluded 2020/21 fiscal year, says the country’s investment commission. The amount, recorded in the FY which ended on July 7,

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14th August 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA State to take all public tenders to online platform Kenya has started the search for an online platform that will process all public tenders and linked to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) in a policy shift aimed at enhancing transparency and nabbing tax cheats.

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6th August 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Ethiopia clears hurdle for M-Pesa expansion Ethiopian authorities told Business Daily on Thursday that the Safaricom licence will be upgraded to include mobile financial service. A consortium led by Safaricom secured the first licence, which does not have a permit for mobile financial services

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31st July 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA  THE FISCAL BUDGET FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2022/2023 In pursuit of openness and accountability in financial matters as spelt out in Article 201 of the Constitution, the National Treasury has invited Government Departments and Agencies, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and individuals to submit

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23rd July 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA StanChart slashes interest rate on fresh mortgages Standard Chartered Bank of Kenya  has cut the interest rate on new mortgages and waived legal and valuation fees for customers moving existing facilities from other banks in the latest bid to grow home loans. Borrowers who

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16th July 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Treasury exceeds July bond uptake target by Sh20bn The Treasury took up an extra Sh19.9 billion above the target of Sh60 billion in the first bond sale of the new fiscal year, taking advantage of high investor appetite for the offer that was sold

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10th July 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA CMA blames courts for Cytonn funds debacle The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has blamed the courts for issuing orders baring the regulator from pursuing Cytonn Group for defaulted investments in Sh13.5 billion funds. The CMA told Parliament that its hands are tied, following a

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25th June 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Safaricom’s Kenya staff to help set up Ethiopia unit Safaricom will second its staff to run Ethiopia operations for products and network development that will help it gain market share that is in the hands of state-owned Ethio Telecom. The telco, which alongside other

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18th June 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA CMA cautions investors against investing in unregulated products offered or promoted by unlicensed firms or unapproved entities The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has cautioned investors against investing through unlicensed and unapproved entities. Following numerous enquiries regarding the licensing status of the Cytonn Investment Group,

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11th June 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Shifting of Internet cable from Sh160bn highway path starts The government has been forced to relocate a crucial fibre optic cable to avoid internet outages when work on the Sh160 billion toll highway from Nairobi to Mau Summit begins in September. The ICT ministry

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4th June 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Digital lenders call for laws that will spur sector growth Digital lenders have asked legislators and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to enact non-restrictive laws that will spur the growth of the sector. This comes in the wake of the Central Bank of

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28th May 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Lobby seeks loans to help Covid-hit SMEs diversify Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry Thursday called for banks to raise lending to small businesses seeking to expand product lines and enter new markets on the back of disruptive coronavirus. The appeal comes on

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21st May 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Justice Martha Koome sworn in as Kenya’s first female Chief Justice Justice Martha Koome made history on Friday, 21st May, 2021 when she was sworn in as Kenya’s first female Chief Justice at State House, two days after the National Assembly approved her nomination

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14th May 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Public debt relief helps cut Kenya payments by Sh78bn Kenya projects savings of up to Sh78.17 billion after it signed debt repayment moratoriums with several rich countries, lifting pressure on its thinned domestic revenue collection. The National Treasury estimates that deferred repayments for loan

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7th May 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA NSE hits 34-month high on Safaricom, banks The value of investor wealth on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) hit a 34-month high of Sh2.62 trillion Thursday, lifted by a rally of the share prices of Safaricom , East African Breweries (EABL) and banks. The

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30th April 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Ajua acquires rival in drive for Africa small enterprises Kenya-based customer experience intermediary Ajua has acquired WayaWaya, a local artificial intelligence and machine learning firm. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Ajua, which assesses customer feedback, said in a statement the

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23rd April 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Foreign investors pull Sh2 billion from NSE Foreign investors have withdrawn Sh1.98 billion from the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) since January, with more than half of the takeaways coming in this month alone, highlighting the impact of profit-taking and fresh Covid-19 control measures announced

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16th April 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA A majority of company chief executives in Kenya believe the high cost of doing business and taxation posed the biggest threat to their operations over the next 12 months. The survey found that although most business leaders projected a substantial economic rebound in the

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9th April 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Call for Comments: Draft National Insurance Policy The National Treasury is in the process of developing a National Insurance Policy which aims at strengthening the policy, legal and regulatory environment for the insurance sector in Kenya. The ultimate goal is to increase insurance penetration

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2nd April 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Resumption of charges for transactions through Bank Specific (In House) Mobile Money Wallets The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) today announced the resumption of charges for transactions above Ksh.100 effected through bank specific (in-house) mobile money wallets that are closely linked to the Savings

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19th March 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

ETHIOPIA Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Demeke Mekonnen told Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Ethiopia Sami Jamil Abdullahi that Ethiopia is keen to resume the negotiation under the leadership of the new chairperson of AU President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the

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12th March 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Payment of external debt nearly doubles in 6 months to Dec Repayment of principal sums owed to external lenders for six months through December 2020 nearly doubled in the lead-up to Treasury’s U-turn in taking debt relief offer and the push to create a

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5th March 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA City Hall seeks new terms for Sh4.5 billion KCB loan City Hall has revealed plans to restructure a Sh4.45 billion KCB Group loan in a bid to end a legal showdown with the lender and avoid property auction. The county said that it will

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26th February 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Tech firm to set up regional data hub in Nairobi Kenya’s data centre market has a new suitor after Europe-based IXAfrica launched plans to build its ‘Africa Campus’ in Nairobi. IXAfrica chairman Guy Willner said they had chosen Nairobi as their regional expansion Launchpad

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19th February 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

The World Bank has named Senegalese national Makhtar Diop as the new managing director of its private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation effective March 1 2021. He becomes the first African to head the institution. Mr Diop, a former Minister of Economy and Finance in the West African country, is currently
serving as World Bank’s vice president for infrastructure, overseeing the lender’s work across energy, transport, and digital
development sectors.

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12th February 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Safaricom biggest winner in Sh1.6bn network upgrade Giant telecommunications firm, Safaricom is among five firms that have been awarded a Sh1.57 billion deal to build base transceiver stations to boost network connectivity in 101 remote sub-locations across the country. The telcos will set up

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5th February 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Jambo Pay obtains licence to operate MVNO service Online payments company Jambo Pay, owned by Web Tribe, has obtained a licence to operate an MVNO service, and says that its initial services will include IoT services such as ‘smart communications networks which will enable

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29th January 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) retain the Central Bank Rate (CBR) at 7 %  The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) met on January 27, 2021and assessed the outcomes of its policy measures deployed since March 2020 to mitigate the adverse economic effects and financial disruptions from

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22nd January 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Banks sucked into Sh24.5bn State stipends row The State Department for Social Protection has failed to account for Sh24.5billion stipends disbursed to the elderly, the disabled and orphans across the country, raising questions on whether the amount reached its intended beneficiaries. Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu

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15th January 2021 Trade & Financial Services Round Up

KENYA Anne Mwenda sworn-in as Nairobi deputy governor Anne Mwenda was on Friday sworn-in as Nairobi County’s third deputy governor following a swift confirmation process by ward representatives earlier in the day. The county assembly accepted a report from the vetting committee approving Ms Mwenda’s

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