Author: Khusoko

Khusoko provides market insights into Africa's business investment as well as global trends that impact East African businesses.

Kenya’s Director of Public Prosecution has dropped charges against ex-PSs Kamau Thugge and Susan Koech in Arror, Kimwarer dams scandal. According to the ODPP,  the duo have agreed to provide testimony against a former finance minister Henry Rotich and others accused of corruption over the awarding of tenders to build the Ksh 63 billion dams. “I have withdrawn charges against Thugge and Koech on instructions from Director of Public Prosecutions,” said Alexander Muteti, a deputy assistant public prosecutor. “The two former top government officials will now testify in the trial against the former finance minister and others charged.”

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ICEA LION Asset Management, a leading investment firm operating in both Kenya and Uganda on Thursday said it sees big upside potential in 2021 for listed bank stocks, citing  an economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. “The feedback we are getting from banks is that a significant number of customers were beginning to repay loans earlier than expected as cash flow improves,” it said during the launch of its DigiTrust, an online investment platform, which enables investors to deposit and withdraw from the ICEA Lion’s Money Market Fund.  According to the Asset Managers, reduced loan loss provisioning and rebound in…

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LAPSSET Corridor Development Authority (LCDA) on Thursday named Maina Kiondo as its new managing director and chief executive officer in an acting capacity. Kiondo succeeds former CEO Silvester Kasuku, to become the second CEO of the Authority since its inception in March 2013. Mr. Kasuku served two full terms which came to an end on 5th January 2021. Mr. Kiondo brings to the Authority a vast experience spanning more than 33 years, having worked his way up within the Civil Service. Until his recent appointment to the helm of LCDA, Kiondo served as the Director of the Northern Corridor Development at the Ministry of East…

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Standard Investment Bank (SIB) multi-asset strategy fund MansaX has posted marginal returns to investors in 2020 at 18.8 per cent from 19 per cent in 2019. MansaX’s returns before fees stood at 23.8 per cent matching up a 24 per cent gross capital appreciation to investors registered in the previous year. This was attributed to the resilience of the fund whose investment primary composes of investments in online foreign exchange markets, commodities and precious metals. “2020 was a year characterised by high levels of uncertainty in the local and global markets. Even so, MansaX was able to prove its resilience…

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East Africa and West Africa will remain as Africa’s most dynamic economies, Moody’s Investors Service said Thursday. In its Sub-Saharan Africa report, the firm projected a negative 2021 outlook for Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and the entire region citing  debt costs post Covid-19 pandemic. According to the report, lower overall economic growth and revenue, coupled with higher government expenditure, will also lead to wider fiscal deficits and higher debt for the region. “Most Sub-Saharan African governments’ debt burdens will stabilise at materially higher levels in 2021, with the average debt burden for the region at around 64% of GDP in…

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The financial markets have started like a rocket this year. The main global indices have incredible resilience through the current pandemic and political turmoil. The German Stock index (DAX30) started this year up 80% from its March 2020 low. The US NASDAQ closed off last year with a gain of 43.64% and since the opening of 2021 all the main US indices (Dow Jones, S&P500, NASDAQ) keep relentlessly printing new all-time highs.  Some of the strongest performing global stocks continue to be those that are servicing the needs of a planet in lockdown. For example, ZOOM (ZM), a video communications…

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