Author: David Indeje

Unga Group Plc says it will partner with Dutch-based Nutreco International in two joint venture deals in Kenya and Uganda. In a cautionary announcement, Unga Group says it shall invest in and form a 50:50 joint venture company in Kenya. In addition, it will transfer Nutreco International’s respective Kenya aquafeed businesses and certain production equipment to the Kenyan joint venture. On the other hand, Nutreco International, a global leader in animal nutrition and aquafeed and Unga Millers, another Unga Group subsidiary, shall invest in and create a joint venture in Uganda. It will also transfer all their respective Uganda animal…

National Bank of Kenya (NBK) has revamped its investment unit, National Trustee and Investment Services Limited (NTISL), to deliver enhanced value to its customers. NBK, a fully-fledged Commercial Bank and a subsidiary of KCB Group has named Victor Odendo, a seasoned investment professional as Principal Officer of NTISL. Odendo will take charge of the revamped unit.   The unit will offer fund management for pension schemes, provident funds and trust funds. It will also offer private wealth management for clients seeking tailor-made investment portfolios; umbrella schemes for small or start-up pension schemes that cannot run on their own. In addition,  personal…

Kenya’s current account deficit widened to 5.4 per cent of Gross domestic product (GDP) in the 12 months to June from 5.2 per cent, primarily on account of a higher trade deficit. The Central Bank of Kenya disclosed that this was highly driven by a higher import bill due to rising oil prices and the continuing recovery of the economy. “The higher deficit was attributed to lower service receipts, which more than offset the increased receipts from exports and remittances,” the Central bank said. “It is at 5.4 per cent in June and we expect that will remain at 5.2…

WPP Scangroup shareholders will wait long after the company says it will delay further publishing its audited financial results for the year ended December 31 2020. The group was expected to release the financials on 31st July. Now, it has been set at the end of August. This is the third time the group is delaying the publication of its audited financial results ended on 31st December 2020. “The audit process has taken longer than anticipated as a result of the extended scope of audit by the external auditors arising from the ongoing investigations…” the Board said in a notice committing…

East African Breweries Limited has completed the acquisition of an additional 30 per cent stake in Serengeti Breweries Limited to take its total holding in the company to 85 per cent. “On 21 October 2020 and on 6 November 2020, EABL completed the acquisition of 13.3 per cent and 16.7 per cent, respectively, of shares in Serengeti Breweries Limited for a total consideration of $55 million (£42 million) in cash and £16 million in the form of shareholder loans outstanding to EABL,” Diageo wrote in a note to investors. The brewer operates across East Africa through its subsidiaries: Kenya Breweries…

Kenya’s inflation accelerated to 6.44 per cent in July of 2021 from 6.32 per cent in June, its highest level since February 2020. The increase is due to the effects of the Finance Bill 2021, which contained a raft of tax measures with a substantial impact on households and the economy. The government starting July raised taxes on a number of products, including cooking gas and mobile money airtime. However, it remained stable within the Central Bank of Kenya’s target band of 2.50% – 7.50%. “This was mainly driven by a rise in prices of commodities under food and non-alcoholic…