Author: David Indeje

South Sudan has cleared its debts to the East African Community (EAC), according to a statement by its government. The country, which joined the bloc in 2016, said it has paid $7 million to the EAC, covering both the arrears and the current 2023–24 financial year.  The statement did not specify when the country paid its previous dues, which amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars.  Finally, South Sudan pays EAC 7000,000 pic.twitter.com/BFj4i0CTT9 — Sheila Ponnie (@PonnieSheila) November 10, 2023 The announcement comes ahead of the 23rd Ordinary EAC Summit, where South Sudan President Salva Kiir will take over as…

Kenya’s National Treasury has appointed Citi and Standard Bank as joint lead managers to assess potential US$ bond options for Kenya in the international capital markets. The options include raising new funds and managing existing liabilities. Kenya’s National Treasury finally puts out a public notice on the appointment of Citi & Standard Bank as joint lead managers for a potential return to the international markets in 2023/24. pic.twitter.com/218jy79baO — Julians Amboko (@AmbokoJH) November 12, 2023 Kenya faces a challenging debt situation, with a USD 300 million Eurobond maturing in June 2024 and limited access to concessional borrowing. The country’s foreign…

CIC Insurance Group is cutting some of its staff through a voluntary early retirement (VER) programme as part of a five-year (2021-2025) corporate restructuring plan.  The plan aims to improve the regional financial services conglomerate’s competitiveness, operational efficiency, and resource allocation. In addition, it involves balance sheet re-organisation, which includes selling non-core assets, mainly land, to focus on core business—insurance and asset management. The regional insurer, listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and operating in Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and Malawi, expects to save at least 15 per cent of the annual payroll costs through the VER programme.  CIC says…

Shareholders of listed utility company Kenya Power & Lighting Company Plc (KPLC) have approved the government’s proposal to appoint five directors to its board. The proposal, which was voted on during the company’s Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) allows the minority shareholders to elect four more directors to the Board.  “Currently, the Government holds 50.09% of the Company’s shares. The approved amendments give the Government, as the Majority Shareholder, the right to appoint five directors while the remaining shareholders will elect four directors,” the power company said in a statement. The proposed changes are aimed at enhancing good governance practices, in the…

Safaricom has revealed the impressive performance of its M-PESA apps, which offer convenient and secure mobile money services to consumers and businesses. The M-PESA Super App, which targets individual customers, has been downloaded 8.5 million times and has 1.6 million active revenue-generating customers. The app allows users to send and receive money, pay bills, buy airtime, and access other financial services. According to the telco’s six-month September 2023 financial results, the value of transactions made through the app reached KShs 897 billion, with the volume of transactions totalling 902.9 million. The app also generated revenue of KShs 5.2 billion, indicating…

British International Investment (BII), a UK development finance institution, has agreed to sell its 10.13 per cent stake in I&M Group to East Africa Growth Holding, an investment vehicle established by Africinvest Fund IV and its affiliates. The transaction is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals in Kenya and other countries where I&M Group operates, the bank said in a statement. “Completion of the proposed transaction is subject to certain conditions that are customary to transactions of this nature including receipt of all regulatory approvals in Kenya and in other countries where the company has operating subsidiaries,” I&M said…