Are the architects, quantity surveyors and engineers so good? This lot is sometimes bad for both the investors and residents. But this is set to change as the discovery of the rebound hammer promises to offer peace of mind. Dr. Raul Figueroa, the CEO of Questworks Limited and the Director for the Establishment of Strathmore’s School of Engineering, for his PhD dissertation at the Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg, USA, carried out a research on the “Structural integrity of buildings in Kenya” aimed at offering solution to unprompted collapse of buildings in Kenya, which, over the years, have led to…
Author: Editor
BY VICTOR ADAR It is easy to forget to make informed choices by doing thorough research. For years, leasing terms and rent have remained the big test especially for new real estate industry entrants. But that is currently not the case. The scenario has changed pretty much, and a lot of good things are happening. According to the “Africa Commercial Occupier Guide” published in the Knight Frank Africa Report 2015, commercial tenants – for offices, retail and industrial properties – usually secure typical leases of six years, for which rents are payable quarterly in advance. Longer lease terms are firmly…
By Luke Mulunda Fuel prices have started rising again. This, of course, was expected. No one imagined it would keep dropping forever or remain low for a very long time. While international indicators still show the likelihood of low prices, locally we are not benefiting optimally from the situation. This raises questions about fuel price regulation policy introduced early this decade. Through the Energy Regulatory Commission, the government sets maximum prices for all categories of fuel every mid-month. Initially, it looked like a great move. But increasingly, the regulation has turned into a barrier to competition in the fuel market.…
BY LUKE MULUNDA When the Central Bank Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) met on May 6 to review market developments, hopes were high for a quick fix to save the shilling from the dollar onslaught. But, as it turned out, the committee left the shilling to be controlled by market forces, exposing the local unit to more battering which ended pushing it further down to 96 to the dollar by the time of going to press. The shilling’s slide has left markets jittery, with importers having to pay through the nose for goods, and setting the stage for a rise in…
JAMES MULIRO Kenya’s financial deficit widened to Sh370 billion from Sh169 billion in the year to March 31, 2015 following increased funds allocation to the country’s budget. This represents a weakening from 3.4% to 6.5% of the gross domestic product (GPD), on the back of public funding shortfalls that has seen the Kenya Revenue Authority appear set to miss the tax collection target of Sh1.1 trillion in the current financial year. The aggregate revenue collection, including Appropriations in Aid (AIA), for the period July 2014 to March 2015 amounted to Sh761.4 billion (representing 13.3% of the GDP) against a target…
By JAMES MULIRO Bad debts in the commercial banking sector stood at an all-time high of Sh117 billion at the end of March 2015, depicting just how dire the situation of bad loans could get. That is nearly a 10% growth from Sh107 billion stock of bad loans at the end of last year. The growing stock of the loans that have gone bad can largely be attributed to high lending rates and the enduring tough business environment. Out of the 11 sectors assessed by the Central Bank, 10 of them witnessed a growth in non-performing loans (NPLs), with the…
Ng’ang’a Wanjohi of Kaskazi In 1999, Ng’ang’a Wanjohi founded Kaskazi, a massive and aggressive last mile distribution of products on behalf of fast-moving consumer goods companies and for a very long time, his team used bicycles. He employed a team of young people who went to the mass market and sold off the grid, collected cash and took it back to the shop owner. Today, Kaskazi is a brand name, engaged in the distribution of products. He has since up-scaled to motorbikes and so a rider can visit close to 30 outlets in one market in a day. That would…
Writing the history of leasing, Jeffrey Taylor says it is corporate America’s biggest external source of equipment finance, bigger than bank loans, bonds, stocks, commercial mortgages and the fastest growing form of business investment. Taylor goes on to say that US companies lease everything from printing presses to power plants, hay balers to helicopters, office copiers to offshore drilling rigs, telecom equipment to large-scale computer networks. And it has been with them from the yore. “Leasing first appeared in the United States in the 1700s, to finance the use of horse-drawn wagons. By the mid-1800s, railroad tycoons, battling to extend…
By David Wanjala He quit a top-level management job with a bank in 2006 to venture into motor vehicle leasing industry, then a virgin and fluid enterprise in the East African region. Today, Paul Njeru, 39, sits at the helm of a Sh9 billion leasing company, which has recently spread its tentacles beyond Kenyan borders, to Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Zambia. Vaell (Vehicle and Equipment Leasing Limited), which Njeru runs as regional managing director and head of strategy, is a local pioneer motor vehicle leasing company that is also a leading player in an industry that has since picked up…
Africa’s contribution to the global economy may be small, but it is certainly growing. One of the key drivers of Africa’s growth is its demographics. At present, an estimated 1.1 billion people live in Africa, compared with China’s near 1.4 billion but, due to its population dynamics and faster rate of growth, Africa’s population is expected to outstrip that of China within the next 15 years. Africa has the youngest population of any continent, with 45 per cent being below 15 years, while the median age in Sub-Saharan Africa is 18.6 years. This means that there will be more people…