Kenya | - Part 9

Drawn-Out Vote in Kenya Increased Risks for Investors, IMF Says

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya’s election rerun is raising the country’s risk profile among investors and weighing down already sluggish economic growth, theInternational Monetary Fund said. “The prolonged election period has increased risks for investors and traders,” Jan Mikkelsen, the Washington-based lender’s new resident representative in Kenya, said in an emailed response to questions. “This in turn has led to a slowdown in economic activity.” The IMF has lowered its 2017 economic growth forecast for…

Brawls, Autocratic Moves Threaten East African Democracy

Posted on by The Editorial Team

KAMPALA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ugandan lawmakers brawl over a bill that could create a president-for-life. Tanzania arrests lawmakers and shutters newspapers. And as Kenya tries to rerun a botched election, a ruling party leader says what the country really needs is a benevolent dictator. As unrest and crackdowns plague some of the region’s largest economies, home to various levels of political freedom, the situation is adding to uncertainty in a part of the world already rocked by…

What’s Next in Kenya’s Political Crisis Is Anybody’s Guess

Posted on by The Editorial Team

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Two months after Kenya staged its presidential election, the East African nation’s political future remains a guessing game. The drama began last month when the Supreme Court — in a first for Africa — annulled the Aug. 8 election because of “illegalities and irregularities” and ordered a fresh vote. That followed allegations by opposition candidate Raila Odinga that the original vote, won by President Uhuru Kenyatta, was rigged. The latest twist came…

Stock Traders Scarce in Kenya as Poll Crisis Clouds Outlook

Posted on by The Editorial Team

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,…

Kenyan Vote to Proceed as Opposition Withdrawal Is Disputed

Posted on by The Editorial Team

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya’s electoral commission said a rerun of the country’s annulled presidential election will go ahead on Oct. 26, as the main opposition disputed the authority’s assertion that its candidate has yet to withdraw from the race. National Super Alliance leader Raila Odinga, who announced on Tuesday that he’s pulling out, must fill in a so-called Form 24A to formalize his exit from the poll, the Independent Electoral & Boundaries Commission…

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…

Upheaval Sends Kenya’s Yields Higher Than Ghana’s for First Time

Posted on by The Editorial Team

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bond investors are getting worried about the political upheaval in Kenya. Opposition leader Raila Odinga’s decision to pull out of an election rerun on Tuesday, which threatens a constitutional crisis, spurred the yield on the nation’s dollar bonds due 2024 to rise 13 basis points. The rate climbed to 6.48 percent as of 2:50 p.m. in Nairobi, above the yield on Ghana’s Eurobonds due 2023 for the first since 2014. Kenyan notes have lost…

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