Author: Muindi

Kenya’s economy remains strong despite uncertainties in the global economic outlook amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The central bank said Wednesday it has not lowered its 2022 growth projections. “Our growth projection has not changed from what we had before. Russia and Ukraine are not significant trading partners for us and as such, our GDP projection would not dramatically deviate from the war,” CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge said after the Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Tuesday, March 29, 2022. “The indirect impact would be through global growth although we saw this from the COVID-19 crisis where the impact was…

Safaricom PLC  and Gulf African Bank, have partnered to launch Halal Pesa, a Shari’ah-compliant mobile financing solution, another milestone in Kenya’s financial inclusion efforts. The mobile financing platform aims to serve Kenyans, especially those seeking mobile financial financing that adheres to Sharia principles. M-Pesa customers will be able to deposit savings in a safe way and contribute to various religious and social activities while earning Halal benefits that are abiding with Sharia-compliant. Customers accessing financing through the service will receive the amount requested in full with a repayment period of 30 days at a 5 per cent commodity Murabaha margin.…

Kenya Airways on Tuesday reported narrowing of its consolidated net loss to KSh15.8 billion for the year ended December 31, 2021.  The airline had posted a net loss of Kh36.2 billion for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, KQ said in a regulatory filing. Consolidated revenue for the period stood at KSh70.22 billion. “Kenya Airways took advantage of the lockdown period to restructure and transform our operations and products. We have seen some good recovery on our domestic, regional, and selected international routes,” KQ chairman Michael Joseph said in an emailed statement. “Following the worst year on record for…

Diamond Trust Bank (DTB)  has resumed paying dividends offering shareholders a payout of KSh3 per share for the year ended December 2021. The total payout of KSh838.89 million in dividends is equivalent to 21.4 percent of its net income for the period. “The dividend payout recognises not just the performance we had in 2021 but also in making sure that we have an equitable balance between the return that we provide to the shareholders and the money that we will need to invest in the future so that we achieve our strategy of being socially and economically relevant,” said DTB…

Max Verstappen clinched his first race victory of the 2022 Formula One season after holding off Charles Leclerc to win the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix  Sunday evening. https://twitter.com/F1/status/1508149242824642576?s=20&t=ABl669H2bmChuo8KT6RYlw “We were battling hard at the front. It was tough. I’m really happy we’ve finally kick-started the season,” said Verstappen. Despite the defeat, Leclerc maintains his world championship lead after two rounds. “It wasn’t enough today, but I really enjoyed that race. It’s hard racing but it’s fair, every race should be like this. It was fun, I’m obviously disappointed, I wanted to win today,” he said. Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz…

Diaspora Remittances to Kenya totaled $321.5 million (KSh36.6 billion) in February, 5.1 percent lower compared to $338.7 million (KSh38.3 billion) in January. Data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Weekly Bulletin said cumulative inflows for the 12 months to January totaled $3.84 billion (KSh437.7 billion) compared to $3.15 billion (KSh359.1 billion) in the same period in 2021, a 21.4 percent increase. The drop was attributed to seasonal factors. The United States of America remains the largest source of remittances in Kenya, accounting for 58 percent in February 2022. It contributed  $186.5 Million in February 2022 compared to $ 209.1…