Kenya’s biggest bank group KCB has been ranked position 667 globally in The Banker’s 1000 World Banks ranking for 2020. This is an improvement of 40 places from position 717 last year in the ranking which tracks the health and wealth of the global banking sector. In 2018, KCB was ranked 809. The lender was rated number 1 in Eastern Africa and emerged in the top 10 among African banks in key parameters such as liquidity (10), growth (3), profitability (9), operational efficiency (8) and soundness (10). The survey analyzed close to 2,000 financial institutions globally, based on 2019 full-year…
Author: Khusoko
Khusoko
Khusoko provides market insights into Africa's business investment as well as global trends that impact East African businesses.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) witnessed a marginal drop in its weekly turnover as indices closed mixed during the week ending Oct 23. The NASI and NSE 25 recorded gains of 1.1% and 0.1%, respectively, while NSE 20 recorded a loss of 0.7%, taking their Year To Date (YTD) performance to losses of 15.1%, 21.6%, and 32.2%, for NASI, NSE 25 and NSE 20, respectively. The NASI performance was driven by gains recorded by large-cap stocks, with the highest gains being recorded by Safaricom and Bamburi which were up 2.8% and 1.9%, respectively. The gains were however weighed down by…
Airtel Africa operations registered a net profit of $88 million for the second quarter this fiscal, down 8.3% year-on-year due to higher net finance costs. Profit after tax after exceptional items grew 54.3% from the preceding quarter’s $57 million. In the review period, July-September the telco’s subscriber base across 14 African countries grew 4.4% on-quarter and stood at 116.4 million with an average revenue per user (Arpu) of $2.8, up from the preceding quarter’s $2.6. Consolidated revenue stood at $965 million, having increased 14.3% from the corresponding quarter last year. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) were up…
Huawei Technologies on Friday said its revenue for the first nine months of 2020 grew 9.9% to 671.3 billion yuan ($95.87 billion) for its unaudited results. However, this was lower compared to last years’ 24.4% sales jump. The company’s net profit margin in this period was 8.0%. Throughout the first three quarters of 2020, Huawei’s business results basically met expectations. As the world grapples with COVID-19, Huawei’s global supply chain is being put under intense pressure and its production and operations face significant challenges. The company continues to do its best to find solutions, survive and forge forward, and fulfill…
Uganda’s central bank kept the key policy rate unchanged at seven percent but warned that the “economic outlook is extremely uncertain”, largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “Indeed, economic growth in Financial Year (FY) 2020/21 is projected at 2.0-3.0 percent and is expected to increase to 5.0-6.0 percent in FY 2021/22 and to 6- 7 percent in the outer years,” said Prof. Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile, Governor. However, it noted a slight improvement in both foreign and domestic demand which, along with the easing of the lockdown and a stable exchange rate, are supporting economic growth recovery. The regulator further waned that…
Cellulant Kenya Limited, a leading multinational payment business, has named Faith Nkatha as its Country Manager. A highly accomplished leader with a proven track record of driving digital transformation, she will be responsible for the company’s operations and scale its payments ecosystem in the country. She joins Cellulant from Oracle Corporation where she was leading their Digital Transformation efforts for the Public Sector. “We are excited that Faith has accepted to join our leadership team and confident that she will lead Cellulant Kenya’s next chapter of growth and success”, said Ken Njoroge, co-Founder & CEO, Cellulant. “We have all been…