Author: Muindi

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Kenya have reached a staff-level agreement worth KSh 56.58 billion ($410 million). The agreement includes the latest review of Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangements and a new arrangement under the fund’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility. If approved, the arrangements provide access to a total amount of SDR1.818 billion (about US$2.43 billion at the current exchange rate).  The mission led by Haimanot Teferra also considered Kenya’s request for access under the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) and further augmentation under the EFF/ECF. “The agreement is subject to IMF management…

British oil and gas exploration company Tullow will assume a 100 per cent equity position in the Project Oil Kenya development following the withdrawal of its two joint venture partners. In an emailed statement, TotalEnergies and Africa Oil Corp, which held a 25 per cent stake each in the project, will withdraw from blocks 10BA, 10BB and 13T for differing internal strategic reasons. Tullow holds a 50% stake in the south Lokichar field. “With the strategic exit of Africa Oil Corp and Total Energies from the Project, Tullow will assume a 100 per cent equity position, subject to the Government…

Eveready East Africa says its top shareholder, East Africa Batteries Limited (EABL), will sell its 35 per cent (73.4 million shares) stake to Dubai-based InvestAfrica FZCO in a private transaction. “InvestAfrica does not intend to make a general offer to acquire all the voting shares in the company [Eveready] following the proposed transaction and there is no intention to delist the company from the Nairobi Securities Exchange after completion of the proposed transaction,” Eveready said in a filing with the Capital Markets Authority. “InvestAfrica intends to provide management and technical support to the company following completion of the proposed transaction.”…

British American Tobacco Kenya Plc (BAT Kenya) has expanded its operations for its Kenyan regional office to cover Southern Africa. Crispin Achola, the Managing Director for BAT Kenya, will be the cluster head for BAT East and Southern Africa, overseeing more than 20 markets. This move enhances Kenya’s profile as a major commercial hub and Africa’s business capital. “The BAT regional office in Nairobi will have oversight of over 20 markets in East and Southern Africa, including Uganda, Rwanda, Mauritius, La Reunion, Malawi, Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe and Zambia,” Mimi Mavuti, Head of Business Communication and Sustainability for BAT Kenya and…

Equity Group Holdings Plc’s first-quarter 2023 pretax profit jumped 10% to Sh16.9 billion from Sh15.3 billion. The Group’s Profit After Tax increased by 8% to Sh12.8 billion, up from Sh11.9 billion, largely driven by the non-funded income of Sh18 billion, up 57% from Sh11.5 billion, which contributed 45% of total income, reflecting the improving quality of Group earnings. https://twitter.com/KeEquityBank/status/1658481857938464772?s=20 “Non-funded income continues to grow much faster than interest income, and this is the momentum we want to maintain,” said Equity Group CEO James Mwangi on Tuesday. It said total assets jumped 21% to Sh 1.54 trillion from Sh 1.3 trillion…

WhatsApp users will be able to lock their chats with a password or fingerprint ID. Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg announced the new update for WhatsApp users. “New locked chats in WhatsApp make your conversations more private. They’re hidden in a password-protected folder and notifications won’t show sender or message content.” The new feature will allow millions of WhatsApp users to lock their chats and stay protected online. “We think this feature will be great for people who have reason to share their phones from time to time with a family member or those moments where someone else is holding your…