Kenya Airways to Sell Four Planes to Raise Cash

Kenya Airways to sell four planes to raise cash

Kenya Airways is planning to sell four of its older planes to raise cash after posting record losses. Acting Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia told a House committee that the sale is part of a recovery plan by the airline. KQ posted a KES 25.7 billion loss that it blamed on competition from Middle East carriers and high operating costs.

Kenya Power loses bid to cash firm’s KES 40m bond

Kenya Power has lost its bid to cash a KES 40 million performance bond it was holding from a supplier, Muwa Trading, following a dispute over a consignment of 708 transformers. Justice Francis Gikonyo ordered the electricity supplier to restore the funds in the Prime Bank account in which they were previously held until the suit is determined. The guarantee is 10 percent of a KES400 million tender Kenya Power had awarded Muwa for the supply of the transformers.

Housing Finance rebrands to reflect new services

The Housing Finance group, an integrated property and financial solutions provider, has rebranded, with new logos for the group and its subsidiaries in line with its strategy of becoming a diversified player in the financial industry. Housing Finance early this month received approval from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to establish a non-operating holding company, HF Group Ltd.

The company also created a new subsidiary, HFC Ltd, which is licensed to offer mortgage financing as well as banking services under the Banking Act. The group has rebranded the Kenya Building Society Ltd (KBSL), its subsidiary and real estate development arm, and renamed it HFDI. It is licensed to engage in project financing and development under the Banking Act.

Safaricom hits banks with new M-Pesa transfer fees

Safaricom has introduced charges for the transfer of funds from customers’ bank accounts to third-party M-Pesa wallets, sealing a loophole that lenders have been using to by-pass the mobile phone company when sending money. The telco said the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) had approved the charges, effective on December 1.The move comes at a time when banks are working on a mobile phonebased payment system called Real Time Interbank Switch.

Bamburi Cement posts KES3bn in half-year profit

Bamburi Cement posted an 85.9 percent net profit jump in the half year ended June, helped by sales growth and aggressive cost-cutting measures. The firm’s net profit in the period stood at KES 3 billion compared to KES 1.6 billion a year earlier. This came as sales rose 11.7 percent to KES 19.3 billion, with the undisclosed costs dropping drastically to result in the operating profit jumping 82.5 percent to KES4 billion. Following strong growth in its primary markets together with better cost optimization and environment, the group recorded strong growth in the first half of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014.

Kenyan Stock Market

The NSE 20 and NASI index declined 6.89 percent and 6.33 percent w/w to close at 4,101.67 and 140.18.

Turnover, total volumes traded and total market capitalization stood at 3,733.86mn, 131.11 and KES 1,968.74 respectively at the end of the week.

EAC Markets

Uganda: The USE ALSI and USE LSI lost 6.66 percent and 0.13 percent w/w respectively to close at 1,779.89 and 349.02

Rwanda: The RSE ALSI and the RSE RSI went up 0.12 percent and 1.25 percent w/w respectively to close at 142.00 and 195.62

Tanzania: The DSE TSI shed off 0.45 percent w/w to close 4,616.52 while DSE DSEI index shed off 0.45 percent w/w to close at 2,484.21.

Global Markets

The S&P 500 lost 0.3 percent to 1,981.48, after the gauge posted its best back-to-back advance since March 2009. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.5 percent, to 16,578.57.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid 0.5 percent. An advance of as much as 0.3 percent in the first few minutes of trading evaporated as the session progressed, with the gauge slipping 1 percent at one point.

Asian stocks rose for a third day as a global rally gathered pace and the U.S. economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter. Chinese shares capped a 10 percent two-day surge. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 1.9 percent to 131.28.