East Africa | - Part 6

Stock Traders Scarce in Kenya as Poll Crisis Clouds Outlook

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Traders are deserting Kenya’s stock market, a star performer earlier this year, as the unresolved crisis around the country’s presidential election discourages foreign investors. Volumes traded on the Nairobi stock exchange have slumped to the lowest this year, dropping to less than 46 million shares in the week ended Oct. 6 from as high as 285 million in June. Values have also dropped, with $870,000 of shares traded Thursday,…

Political Crisis With No Clear End Grinds Down Kenya Economy

Posted on by The Editorial Team

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Joyce Njeri stands outside her clothes boutique in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, trying to entice a handful of passers-by to look at the clothes she has for sale. There aren’t many takers. Commerce in Nairobi’s central business district already started tailing off before presidential elections on Aug. 8 that the Supreme Court annulled following vote-rigging allegations. It’s slowed dramatically during the twice-weekly protests the opposition called to demand an overhaul…

Kenya Plans to Start Oil Exports, Award Blocks Early 2018

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya plans to ship its first oil at the end of February and award 17 new exploration blocks during the first quarter of 2018, the Energy Ministry said. While East Africa’s biggest economy was scheduled to export its first crude in June, it delayed the pilot program following a tussle between the Turkana community in Kenya’s northwest — where Tullow Oil Plc has discovered 1 billion barrels of oil — and the central government…

Rwanda Army Tortured Suspected Rebels, Opponents, Group Says

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KIGALI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Rwanda’s military detained suspected rebels and supporters of an exiled opposition group, subjecting them to beatings, mock executions and electric shocks, Human Rights Watch said. The New York-based advocacy group has confirmed 104 cases of people illegally detained, many of whom were tortured, in army detention centres between 2010 and 2016, it said Tuesday in a report. The total number is probably higher because of the secret nature of…

Kenya Airways CEO Shrinks Board in Bid to Return to Profit

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya Airways Limited is thinning out its board as part of an effort to return sub-Saharan Africa’s third-biggest airline to profit, Chief Executive Officer Sebastian Mikosz said. The carrier is implementing changes to its management structure that will “significantly” reduce the number of managers and direct reports to the CEO, Mikosz said Tuesday in an emailed response to questions. The adjustments are also aimed at making staff more accountable and some employees…

Congo Opposition Leader Katumbi Will Return to Congo in December

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KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Democratic Republic of Congo opposition leader and presidential hopeful Moise Katumbi said he will return to his homeland in December after more than a year abroad to participate in the country’s delayed elections. The 52-year-old former governor of Congo’s copper-rich Katanga province plans to challenge President Joseph Kabila’s rule of the Central African country on his return, he said at a conference Monday in London. Katumbi has previously pledged to return to…

Uganda Cuts Benchmark Rate to Record Low to Boost Credit

Posted on by The Editorial Team

KAMPALA (Capital Markets in Africa) Uganda’s central bank reduced its benchmark interest rate to support economic growth even as lending to businesses and individuals begins to show signs of improvement. Policy makers at the Bank of Uganda cut the rate by 50 basis points to 9.5 percent, extending an easing cycle that began in April 2016. Prior to Tuesday’s decision, they’d reduced the rate by a total of 700 basis points in eight of the past nine…

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