Author: James Wambua
When taxes don’t make business sense
With a scheduled touchdown of 12 midnight at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, I knew I will have problems finding my way to Ndenderu, Kiambu County, in the dead of the night. So upon getting that “Karibu nyumbani” alert from Safaricom, and going through the arrival immigration checks by tired-looking officers, I stepped out on the cold tarmac to get a taxi home. “Boss, unaelekea wapi?,” a trio of taxi drivers, keen to secure a late-night deal, shove each other mobbing me at the arrivals section. Years of technological advances and the rise of digital ride hailing applications have done little to change…
Read More
KCB doubles loan loss provision to Sh4.1 billion as profit dips
KCB has nearly doubled its cover for bad loans to Kes4.1 billion in the period that ended March as the regional lender’s net profit for the first quarter this year dipped to Kes9.75 billion from Kes9.85 billion in March 2022. The lender said increased credit risk and the impact of forex devaluation in Kenya was presenting a challenging operating environment that has greatly impaired the quality of its assets. In the period, KCB Group’s gross non-performing loans jumped by 34.8 percent to Kes176.5 billion from Kes130.9 billion in March 2022. The bank’s loan book expanded by 31.9 percent to close the quarter at Kes928.8 billion…
Read More
Why Kenya is shifting horticultural exports to sea freight
Kenya has started plans to shift half of its horticultural exports from air to sea freight in the next 10 years in an effort to cut emissions and lower costs. The shift will help lower both Kenya’s carbon footprint and make the produce competitive in overseas markets. Horticulture is one of the country’s top forex earner. The industry generated Kes152.3 billion in earnings last year. Whereas air freight is faster and more reliable in exporting cargo, it is too costly, environmentally harmful and transports much less volute compared to sea freight. Currently, a number of exporters in Kenya’s flowers, vegetables and fruit segment have started…
Read More
Kakuzi expands offerings for stronger shareholder gains
Fruit exporter Kakuzi is gearing up to make its pioneer property development investment in the retail sector by developing Kakuzi Farmers Market as part of optimising shareholder returns. The retail centre, which be located opposite the firm’s headquarters on the Nairobi-Nyeri highway, will see Kakuzi sell its range of value-added products to customers in Kenya. The location for the Nairobi Securities Exchange listed company will also enable it to provide a decent market for up-country travelers to stop and refresh. Further, Kakuzi is in the final stages of a commercial appraisal in readiness for a full-scale Blueberries production venture investment at an estimated cost of…
Read More
