The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) in a public notice has warned Kenyans against online foreign exchange trading through unlicensed entities, saying they risk being defrauded and losing money. The CBK through its Banking fraud Investigations Department said their attention has been drawn to the emergence of unlicensed and unregulated online foreign exchange (forex) dealers platform. “The purpose is to warn members of the public…They should only deal with genuine and licensed financial institutions and entities,” read part of the notice. RELATED Capital Markets Authority warns against unlicensed online forex trading The regulator says the public needs to confirm the…
Author: Khusoko
Khusoko
Khusoko provides market insights into Africa's business investment as well as global trends that impact East African businesses.
The Central Bank of Kenya’s Monetary Policy Committee will hold its next rate-setting meeting on September 23, 2019. It’s last meeting of July, the MPC held its benchmark lending rate at 9.00% for the sixth time in a row on the backdrop of inflation expectations being within the target range. Market analysts from the Commercial Bank of Africa say the Central bank’s current policy stance may be sustained for the rest of this year thanks to low inflation. “Core inflation has remained sub 4.0% through 2019. While headline inflation rose to 6.3%, it is expected to remain within the statutory…
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Oxfam International executive director Winnie Byanyima as the new UNAids executive director, a spokesperson for Guterres said in a statement. She takes over from Malian Michel Sidibé who stepped down in May, following accusations of serious mismanagement. https://twitter.com/Winnie_Byanyima/status/1161809357262282752 According to UNAIDS, Ms Byanyima brings a wealth of experience and commitment in harnessing the power of governments, multilateral agencies, the private sector and civil society to end the AIDS epidemic around the world. Ms Byanyima has been the Executive Director of Oxfam International since 2013. Prior to that, she served for seven years as the…
China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina) has been picked by Kenya to purchase its first batch of crude oil export. “ChemChina UK LTd was selected following a competitive tender process… an invitation to bid was issued to prospective buyers on 26th July 2019,” said a statement issued by the Kenyan Government, together with Tullow Oil and its joint venture partners. Early this month, President Uhuru Kenyatta said the country had concluded the first deal with 200,000 barrels at a price of KSh1.2 billion. “We are now an oil exporter. Our first deal was concluded this afternoon with 200,000 barrels at a…
The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has approved the issuance of Kenya’s first unlisted green bond, to Acorn Project (Two) Limited Liability Partnership. The green bond seeks to raise KSh5 billion to finance sustainable and climate-resilient student accommodation and is structured as a restricted public offer for sophisticated investors. Issuers will target sophisticated investors who will get a 50% guarantee from credit guarantees provider Guarantco on both their investments and the interest. “The issuance is a critical step in advancing the development of an effective ecosystem to support the establishment of green capital markets in Kenya in line with the Marrakech…
Super petrol and diesel prices in Kenya have dropped by KSh2.86 and KSh3.28 per litre respectively, while that of kerosene has increased by KSh1.98. The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) attributed the latest decrease in petrol and diesel costs to a break in the pricing of fuel imports between June and July. “The changes in this month’s prices have been a consequence of the average cost of imported super petrol and diesel decreasing by 5.6 and 7.1 percent between June and July 2019,” read EPRA’s statement. During the same period prices were affected by the mean monthly US Dollar…