Author: David Indeje

The Kenyan shilling held steady against major international and regional currencies during the week ending Sept. 17  attributable to increased dollar demand from the energy sector.   In the week, the shilling averaged KSh 110.03 per US dollar on September 16, compared to KSh 110.10 per US dollar on September 9 a marginal depreciation of 0.2 per cent.  FX Reserves In addition, the Central Bank Weekly bulletin for the week showed that usable foreign exchange reserves remained adequate at USD 9,619 million (5.88 months of import cover) as at September 16. The reserves had declined by USD 10 million from USD…

The United Kingdom on Friday announced that Kenya is among eight countries that will be removed from its red list, meaning passengers arriving in the country from these destinations will not have to quarantine. The Department for Transport confirmed the eight countries coming off the red list as of 4 am on Wednesday are Turkey, Pakistan, the Maldives, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Oman, Bangladesh and Kenya. “Today’s changes mean a simpler, more straightforward system. One with less testing and lower costs, allowing more people to travel, see loved ones or conduct business around the world while providing a boost for the…

Kenya’s total receipts for the August period of the current fiscal surged 34 per cent,  to Ksh 125.3 billion compared to Ksh 93.5 billion similar period in FY 2020/21. According to the statement of actual revenues and net exchequer issues as of August 31 by the National Treasury, published Friday, cumulative tax receipts through the first two months of the 2021/22 financial year stand at Ksh 247.2 billion in contrast to Ksh188.1 billion in August 2020. This is a 23 per cent increase attributed to both the economic recovery on easing of the Covid-19 containment measures. Additionally, the implementation of…

Kenya’s minister for trade has appointed a four-member team that will represent the country in the Economic Partnership Agreement Council. Betty Maina, Kenya’s Industrialisation, Trade and Enterprise Development minister also appointed an eight-member team to be part of the Committee of Senior Officials published in the Kenya Gazette. The council will be chaired by the Minister and its members include The Attorney-General (Paul Kihara), The Minister for the National Treasury and Planning (Ukur Yattani), Minister for the East African Community and Regional Development (Adan Mohamed ) and Minister for Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Co-operatives ( Peter Munya). On the other…

The World Bank Group said on Thursday it has decided to discontinue publication of its “Doing Business” rankings of country business climates after a review of data irregularities in the 2018 and 2020 reports. In a statement, the World Bank said that after the irregularities raised ethical matters involving former bank staff and board officials, it will work on a new approach to assessing countries’ business and investment climates. The irregularities in Doing Business reports had affected four countries: China, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan. According to the review findings, the initial Doing Business 2018 report, China had…

Kenya Breweries Limited has initiated the second phase of the Raising the Bar recovery program targeting 850 bars and eateries across the country by the end of November 2021. This follows a successful phase one that saw the onboarding and retrofitting of 169 outlets around the Nairobi Metropolitan area with Covid-19 safety elements and equipment with a further 100 outlets being targeted by end of September 2021. “By bringing international best practices, providing access to training and Covid safety equipment, KBL aims to help bars, pubs and restaurants to open their doors again and to do so in a safe…