ILAM Fahari I-REIT unitholders give thumbs up to delisting
Unitholders of ILAM Fahari Real Estate Investment Trust have approved the proposed operational restructuring and the delisting of the REIT
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Markets
Unitholders vote to reshape ILAM Fahari I-REIT
Today, ILAM Fahari Real Estate Investment Trust, a real estate investment trust listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, is convening
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High-interest rate regime sees Kenya shift financing strategy
Kenya has announced a shift in its financing strategy, pivoting towards concessional loans due to uncertainties surrounding access to global
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Kenya gets nod for Sh100 billion fresh IMF loan
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on Thursday that it has secured a provisional agreement with Kenya, allowing for the immediate disbursement of $682.3 million (KES 103.85 billion). The country has also secured an augmentation of the current program’s funding by $938 million (142.76 billion). The IMF noted that uncertainty surrounding Kenya’s ability to access financial markets had been placing significant strain on liquidity. This was primarily attributed to the impending maturity of a substantial Eurobond, valued at $2 billion and set to mature next year. Haimanot Teferra, the head of the IMF’s Kenya mission, explained, “The tightening global financing conditions for frontier economies and…
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NCBA enters deposit race with cash prize offers
NCBA Bank has kicked off a three-month deposit mobilization campaign named “Deposit & Delight,” offering cash rewards to savers. This initiative provides Kenyan customers with the opportunity to win up to Kes1 million for deposits as low as Kes5,000. The campaign underscores the bank’s commitment to expanding its retail banking business to support its key strategic priority of customer growth. Traditionally, banks offer prizes to encourage deposit mobilization, and as lenders grapple with the growing cost of fund deposit mobilization, more campaigns are likely to be launched. However, with the rise of digital banking, competition from unit trusts, and awareness of government interest rates, it…
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M-PESA revenue surge propels Safaricom half-year profit to Sh34.2 billion
The reintroduction of M-PESA charges, along with the onboarding of more merchants on Lipa Na M-PESA, has increased M-PESA’s contribution to Safaricom’s earnings by 16.5 percent or Kes66.2 billion in the half that ended on September 30. Safaricom reports that business-related payments, such as bill payments and purchases, increased significantly by 40.2 percent or Kes17.6 billion YoY in the same period when M-PESA merchants saw a 22.3 percent uptick to 658,000. Out of the Kes18.3 trillion in transactions processed through M-PESA during this period, Kes 10.1 trillion, or 55.4 percent, were subject to charges, reflecting a 64.3 percent year-on-year increase, according to Safaricom. However, Safaricom…
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Old Mutual to sell office tower as shilling fall doubles loan cost
Old Mutual wants to sell its iconic Nairobi tower and convert over Kes8.8 billion of shareholder debt into equity to manage its finance costs, which have shot up by 96 percent due to the depreciation of the Kenyan currency. In a notice to shareholders, Old Mutual states that the shareholder loans, amounting to Kes8.8 billion as of 30 June 2023, which are a combination of foreign currency as well as local currency loans, will now be converted into preference shares. The South African giant also plans to put its iconic Old Mutual tower, built in 2016 for Kes5 billion, up for sale. As the Kenyan…
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ILAM FAHARI I-REIT redemption oversubscribed by 13.08 percent
The redemption offer for ILAM Fahari Real Estate Investment Trust, a real estate investment trust listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), has been oversubscribed by 13.08 percent. This development now clears the path for the next stage of strategic restructuring for this investment vehicle. Dislosures show that throughout the offer period, the REIT Trustee received applications for the redemption of 41,371,604 units, representing a subscription rate of 113.08 percent. Additionally, the REIT received applications for topping up additional units, totaling 421,945, from Non-Professional Investors. In announcing the results of the offer, Mr. Einstein Kihanda, CEO of ICEA LION Asset Management (ILAM), stated that the…
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CMA has full powers to prosecute company boards
The directors of Uchumi Supermarket will face the Capital Markets Authority again, after the Court of Appeal overturned a Justice George Odunga Ruling that had set them free. The court ruled that CMA has the full mandate to punish errant board members saying the judge had erred by assessing the regulators case as a criminal case as opposed to an administrative action. Three Uchumi directors, Joyce Ogundo, James Murigu and Barth Ragalo had rushed to court to stop the CMA from punishing them for “having only sat at Uchumi board”. The High Court judge agreed to stop the case on grounds that the charges were…
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KRA to onboard informal sector players into the tax net
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is developing policies and measures to bring thousands of small-scale businesses and players in the informal sector into the country’s tax system. The informal sector, mainly comprising SMEs, employs approximately 15 million people in Kenya, representing 83 percent of the country’s total labour force. KRA views this segment as having significant potential and aims to promote tax compliance within it. During the 2023 Annual Tax Summit, KRA’s Commissioner-General, Mr Humphrey Wattanga, stated, “One of the initiatives under KRA’s tax base expansion programme is netting the informal sector into the tax bracket, the majority of whom are the MSMEs. This, therefore,
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