JAMES MULIRO In less than two months, another Kenyan bank has fallen, following in the footsteps of collapsed Dubai Bank Kenya, whose winding process is on going. Acting on what it termed as “unsafe or unsound business conditions at Imperial Bank Limited,” the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) immediately put the mid-tier lender under receivership. This action was quickly followed through by the Bank of Uganda (BoU), which put the lender’s Uganda subsidiary under receivership as well to protect the interests of depositors and creditors at the bank. In what has sent jitters in Kenya’s banking industry, the placement of…
Author: Editor
BY OMONDI AKURE Not many journalists pursued the chap who won the Sh30 million Sportpesa jackpot with as much doggedness as would have been expected. Perhaps journalists are losing their mettle. Or perhaps I just did not put my ears to the ground. Anyway, I am sure, whether they did pursue the guy or not, one of the most foremost questions that would have been asked would be: what are you going to do with all that money? As to what his response would have been, your guess is as good as mine. He would most likely than not say…
By Hannigtone Ilamenya Former Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) governor Prof Njuguna Ndung’u could be twirling in discomfort in retirement as the banking industry he left barely nine months ago continues to experience a shake-up under new management. Prof. Ndung’u who is accused of turning his eyes away when the regulatory whip caught up with the fallen Dubai Bank Kenya, whose winding up is ongoing, is yet again on spot following the putting under receivership of Imperial Bank of Kenya Limited. On October 15, shockwaves were sent down the spine of Kenya’s banking sector when the mid-tier lender was placed…
BY JANE WACHIRA According to financial times lexicon, a wage bill refers to the total amount of money that a company pays its employees. In this case the public wage bill refers to the total amount of money that the government pays to its civil servants. It is comprised of regular payroll expenditures such as basic salary, house allowance and all other allowances payable to public servants. It also includes other personnel related expenditure, which are not paid on a regular basis, such as fees, commissions and honoraria, refund of medical expenses and other personal benefits. The public wage bill…
By Elsie Oyoo Women in the top echelons of the legal profession, like the rest of the corporate world, are rare and far between. A study done by Chamber Student in 2014 showed that though women enlist in law school by the droves, they only form 24% of partners in the so-called magic circle law firms in England. Similarly, an article from the American Bar Association reported that in the USA, 79% of lead council in trial cases is men. In our very own Kenya, a cursory look at the top law firms reveals a 1:2 ratio of women to…
As the drug manufacturer seeks to penetrate the fertilizer market, Dawa Limited, which is part of the Dawa Group, has expanded its paddle to acquire Kel Chemicals targeting the fast growing chemicals industry. Kel Chemicals, founded in 1977, is the oldest and largest manufacturer both in East and Central Africa of single Superphosphate fertilizer and sulphuric acid, and is intended to enable the conglomerate diversify into the expanding market. The company also manufactures aluminium sulphate. The group Managing Director, Ajay Patel, is a graduate of University of Wisconsin, and a fierce business man running big projects in Thika, where he…
By Muthoni Ndegwa Under performing employees can be the reason your business crumbles over time, especially if these employees are not managed accordingly. As an employer, you may have forebodings about approaching these under performing employees to find out what could be wrong, but this only delays the inevitable. Some employers may decide to give under performing employees time to recover to their usual self, avoiding a one-on-one confrontation, while others may proceed to issue warnings and threats if there is not improvement. These two directives are bound to result in one outcome; company losses and a dull work force.…
BY JOSHUA MASINDE Barely a month following his appointment as Uchumi Supermarkets chief executive officer, Julius Kipng’etich sent shockwaves in East Africa’s retail industry by shutting down the firm’s Uganda subsidiaries. The former Equity Bank chief operations officer announced on October 14, 2015, the closure of Uchumi Supermarkets Uganda subsidiary, stating that it had not made profit over the last five years. The subsidiary was in fact, draining the main business in Kenya and was not projected to turnaround any time soon given the challenges the business is currently experiencing. While it is widely expected the Kipng’etich is the right…
One thing about owning a computer is that, sooner or later, it can fail to keep up with your demands. People crack jokes about buying the fastest computer in the market only to find out that it cannot keep up with the times as its random access memory (popular as RAM) must be upgraded. RAM is one of the most crucial specifications of your computer’s hardware. Therefore, it is a very useful thing to understand. A working knowledge of RAM can give you an idea of just what your desktop computer or laptop can and cannot run. Information in RAM…
Property services companies, Broll Property Group, recently announced the executive appointment of Brad Gee, former Chief Operating Officer for Dolmen Group, Pakistan’s largest private owned property developer and management company, to Managing Director for Broll Kenya. Australian Gee brings with him a wealth of real estate knowledge and emerging markets experience. He has worked in Australia, Dubai, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam as well as Europe. One of his career achievements include the restructuring of the then failing property management arm of Dolmen Group. He is expected to strengthen Broll’s business in Africa from an operational perspective as the…