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

This week, the Central Bank of Kenya released the results of the first-ever Diaspora Remittances Survey (the “Survey”). The Survey was conducted between March and May 2021 by the Central

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

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

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

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

The balance between the protection of the right to privacy and enforcing anti-money laundering laws will once again come to the fore as Parliament works to seal loopholes in the

By: John Mburu The EGCL Institute recently conducted a study on the impact that Government domestic borrowing has on private sector investment in Kenya. In summary, the study established that

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Kenya Bankers Association Centre for Research on Financial Markets and Policy released the third annual State of the Banking Industry (SBI) Report on 27th July, 2021. It focuses on

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

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

Dr Mohamed Omar – KRA Commissioner – Strategy, Innovation and Risk Management Tax systems go through changes over time, as economies and societies equally evolve. Tax administration in Kenya has

The Cabinet Secretary to the National Treasury and Planning is proposing to make the Capital Markets (Investment Based Crowdfunding) Regulations, 2021. The Regulations will apply to investment-based crowdfunding platforms in

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TAX AMENDMENTS HIGHLIGHTS Introduction: The Finance Bill, 2021 was published on 05th May 2021. The reason for publishing the Bill early, as was the case in 2020, was to comply

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

Oxygéne MCL in partnership with the Institute of Public Finance, Kenya (IPFK) launched the Shadow Budget Report for the Financial Year 2021/2022 on 28th April, 2021. The event was attended

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Taxing businesses on profits as
it has always been means
that loss making entities
comfortably escape the
taxman’s noose. Bear
in mind that the onus of
determining profits or losses
rests on the taxpayer.

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

The Central Bank of Kenya
has come up with Kenya
National Payments Vision
and Strategy 2021-2025
to regulate this area more
effectively. The paper is open
for public participation until the
31st of January 2021.

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

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

Kenya has greatly been affected by the outbreak of Covid-19 that was subsequently declared a global Pandemic. Businesses had to minimize their activities due to the Pandemic. This led to

KENYA Expiry of Emergency Measures to Facilitate Mobile Money Transactions and the Introduction of Principles to Guide Pricing On December 17, 2020 the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) after consulting

SPECIAL FEATURE: The Kenya Government has reiterated its commitment in implementing international standards on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes as part of a national effort to curb

KENYA Treasury bonds trade falls as CBK mops up shilling The value of bonds traded in the secondary market at the Nairobi Securities Exchange fell by a fifth in November

KENYA The return of Pre-COVID taxes on VAT and Income Tax  The Office of the Cabinet Secretary for Treasury and Planning has released a press statement today stating that the

On 27th November, 2020, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) hosted an online sensitization forum on Digital Service Tax (DST). In his presentation, Mr. Nickson Omondi provided highlights of the policy

KENYA KCB Group PLC and Atlas Mara Limited Sign Acquisition Deal for Rwanda, Tanzania Banking Businesses.The Proposed transaction will see KCB acquire Banque Populaire du Rwanda Plc (BPR) and African

KENYA The Public Sector Hearings for FY 2021/22 and Medium -Term period The National Treasury and Planning has organized the Public Sector Hearings for FY 2021/22 and Medium-Term period on

On 19 th November, 2020 it was confirmed that the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury & Planning, Hon. (Amb.)Ukur Yatani, EGH, had approved the appointment of Mr. Wyckliffe Shamiah as

Introduction The Consolidated Government Investment Report 2019/2020 (“the Report”) is put together in accordance with Section 89 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2012.  The Section requires the Cabinet Secretary

KENYA Kenya set to shift to e-visa services in 2021 The Kenyan government on Tuesday, 3 November announced a shift to e-visa services effective 1 January 2021. The Department of