Author: David Indeje

The Kenya shilling weakened sharply against the US dollar, hitting a fresh low of 129. The depreciation has partly been attributable to increased dollar demand from importers. “The Kenya shilling remained stable against major international and regional currencies during the week ending March 9,” the Central Bank of Kenya said in its Weekly Bulletin. “It exchanged at KSh 128.59 per US dollar on March 9, compared to KSh 127.29 per US dollar on March 2.” On a year-to-date, the shilling has ceded 3.32% compared to a 0.61 per cent depreciation during the same period in 2022. “Further shilling weakness is…

Troubled Tuskys Supermarket has closed its Karasha branch along Kenyatta Avenue in Nairobi’s Central Business District. “Due to unavoidable circumstances, we have had to close this branch. Kindly support our Tom Mboya Street branch, which remains operational,” a notice posted on the outlet’s walls read. “Any inconvenience is highly regrettable.” The closure has brought down the number of the retailers’ operating outlets countrywide to five: Tuskys Imara, Tuskys Athi River, Tuskys Buruburu, Tuskys Ongata Rongai, and Tuskys Oltalet Narok located in Oltalet Mall. Tuskys Imara branch along Tom Mboya is the only remaining retailer’s outlet in the CBD. “In light…

Kenya’s private sector activity contracted in February for the first time in six months due to the weakening of the shilling and growing tax burdens for firms; a survey showed on Friday. The S&P Global Kenya Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 46.6 in February from 52.0 a month earlier. Readings above 50.0 signal growth in business activity, while those below that point to a contraction. Demand weakness was evident in the survey data, as companies reported a sharp contraction in new order volumes following a solid upturn in January. Survey panellists noted that customers had pared back spending due…

The world’s ‘ultra-high net worth individuals’ (UHNWIs) lost a cumulative wealth of $10 trillion or 10% of their net worth in 2022 due to global economic uncertainty, energy crisis and geopolitical situations, Knight Frank’s 17th edition of The Wealth Report reveals. In Europe, they lost an average of 17% of their fortunes. Those in Australia recorded an 11% drop, and America shed 10%. In comparison, Africa witnessed the smallest decline with 5%, followed by Asia and the Middle East at 7%, the report added. According to Knight Frank, UHNWIs possess a net worth of $30 million or more, including assets.…

A B2B technology innovation leader, Nokia, is changing its brand identity for the first time in nearly 60 years, complete with a new logo. “When you take the different letters, which are kind of stick-like, and you put them together and everybody sees that it says Nokia,” Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark. “In most people’s minds, we are still a successful mobile phone brand, but this is not what Nokia is about. We want to launch a new brand that is focusing very much on the networks and industrial digitalization, which is a completely different thing from the legacy mobile phones.”…

Absa Bank Kenya, the latest lender, urges its customers to stockpile chequebooks following De La Rue’s decision to freeze its country operations. The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm urged customers to order their cheques early to avoid inconveniences. “Dear Customer, we have been informed about a potential workflow disruption by our cheque printing partner that will interrupt our normal supply of new cheque books. To avoid any inconvenience, please place orders for your required cheque books to cover at least six months as soon as possible, but no later than 27, 2023,” the notice read. In its half-year financial result ending…