East Africa |

Mobile-Money Growth Fuels Safaricom’s 20% Jump in Profit

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Safaricom Plc.’s profit grew 20 percent in the six months to end-September, underpinned by money-transfer income and even as growth in mobile-data sales slowed. Profit at East Africa’s biggest company by market value came in at 31.5 billion shillings ($309.6 million) while service revenue grew almost 8 percent to 118.2 billion shillings. While mobile-data sales climbed 11 percent to 19.5 billion shillings, that was slower than the 31 percent…

The Kenya Banking Sector: Current Tends and Prospects

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya’s banking sector has proven resilient over the last few years, continuing to deliver growth despite the tougher operating environment. The country has a total of 42 commercial banks, of which 11 are listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange; with 1 mortgage finance company, 13 microfinance banks and 3 credit reference bureaus, all regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya. Financial inclusion continues to rise, reaching 75.3% in 2016…

Kenya Drops Budget Cap to Reach Oil-Cash Deal, Lawmakers Say

Posted on by The Editorial Team

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya agreed to drop budget-allocation limits for oil-rich counties in order to break a deadlock in passing a revenue-sharing law that’s delayed production. The Petroleum Exploration, Development and Production Bill, which was presented to lawmakers in February and later withdrawn, proposed giving communities 5 percent of revenue and county administrations receiving 20 percent provided those amounts did not exceed budget allocations by the national government. The local community’s share was…

Opposition Fortunes Wane as Tanzania President Rules Supreme

Posted on by The Editorial Team

DAR ES SALAAM (Capital Markets in Africa) – Two years into his rule, Tanzanian President John Magufuli has some unexpected new fans: his political opponents. His chief rival in the 2015 vote, Edward Lowassa, has praised his reforms and urged others to support them. Another challenger became one of his regional commissioners, while two opposition lawmakers recently defected to the ruling party and will run as candidates in February by-elections. These could be signs that Magufuli, who’s nicknamed…

World’s Biggest Bond Losers Reward Investors Betting on Rebound

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Money managers gunning for the best emerging-market bond returns this year may want to consider the biggest losers of 2016 and 2017. History suggests that the worst-performing sovereign debt over a 12- or 24-month horizon is often prone to a sharp reversal as prices revert back to fair value. Take for example Barbados and Turkey. They rebounded from posting some of the worst returns of 2013 to lead the…

Kenya President Keeps Treasury Chief as He Builds Government

Posted on by The Editorial Team

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta retained his Treasury and energy chiefs as he begins building a government with the task of reuniting East Africa’s biggest economy after months of electoral uncertainty. Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich and Energy Secretary Charles Keter will remain in their posts, as will the head of the Tourism Ministry, Najib Balala, and Information and Communications Secretary Joseph Mucheru. Kenyatta also named Fred Matiang’i as interior minister in a televised address on Friday,…

Kenyan Central Bank Agrees to SBM’s Offer for Chase Bank

Posted on by The Editorial Team

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya’s central bank said it agreed to a deal in which SBM Holdings Ltd., the second-biggest lender in Mauritius, will purchase some assets of distressed Chase Bank Ltd. The offer will ensure the transfer of 75 percent of the value of deposits that had been locked in receivership and the retention of staff and branches of Chase Bank, which went under in April 2016. The lender has been under the…

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