Shilling’s tough year expected as East Africa outshines the continent
Economies across East Africa are poised to achieve higher growth rates than their counterparts in other regions across the continent,
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Kenya Shilling
Investors seek clarity on opaque state dollar deals
Foreign investors are seeking clarity on the state oil import deal and plans to repay the Eurobond which will have a huge impact on Kenya’s currency affecting investments. Ronak Gadhia, CFA, Director of Frontier Banks for EFG Hermes Research said investors are keen on establishing how Kenya will pay for the oil. Investors note that it may impact dollar reserves in KEnya ahead of a huge Eurobond payment this year. Kenya signed a State-backed deal with Saudi Aramco, Emirates National Oil Corporation (Enoc) and Abu Dhabi National Oil Corporation Global Trading (Adnoc) in April to buy fuel in credit for up to six months lower…
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World Bank extra billions to cover funding shortfall from failed Eurobond
The World Bank approved Kenya request to increase allocation under the Development Policy Operation framework (DPO) from $750 million to $1 billion to cover shortfalls after Kenya failed to raise a Eurobond. The green growth funds, set to be disbursed after the Banks board approved the funding this week will be keen in replenishing Kenya’s forex reserves that have come under debt repayment pressures and shilling volatility. World Bank said working closely with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) they determined Kenya needed access to additional funding given the country was unable to raise money through the Eurobond that has led to a buildup of financing…
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StanChart quadruples returns from deposits with local banks
Standard Chartered Group saw a four fold increase in interest earning deposit accounts with local lenders, powering the bank’s 43 percent jump in net profit to Kes5.63 billion in the three months to March from Kes3.92 billion in the same period last year. Income from deposits with other banks grew to Kes1.12 billion from Kes296 million reported in March 2022. StanChart reported increase in the deposits and balances due from local institutions which stood at Kes1.76 billion in March 2023 compared to Kes9.6 million during the first quarter 2022. In Kenya, banks are having a challenge getting cash from other lenders due to a dysfunctional…
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Port of Mombasa activity declines as cargo traffic drops
The number of ships docking at the Port of Mombasa decreased by 4.5 percent to 1,561 in 2022 reflecting decreased activity in Kenya’s transport sector during the year. The slowdown in the sector’s growth was partly on account of a decline in total cargo throughput at the Port of Mombasa by 1.9 percent to stand at 33.74 million metric tonnes in 2022. The latest data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows that import cargo traffic went down by 2.3 percent to 26.7 million metric tonnes in the year under focus when the country’s real GDP expanded by 4.8 percent on shrinking agricultural output….
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