BY KOSTA KIOLEOGLOU According to the Hass Property Index quarter two report for 2019 released on July the 24, the House Price Index showed that property prices fell by 3% while detached houses dropped by 4.5% in the quarter. The head of development consulting and research at Hass Consult also pointed out the fact that there is also an increase in distressed properties in the market as reflected by advertised property auctions. Additionally, developers are offering generous terms which continue to suppress prices and rents to the point where investors are opting for safer short-term investments. This new report is one more proof that Kenya’s property…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
BY DENNIS NDIRITU In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes – Benjamin Franklin, 1789 Taxation has been lauded worldwide as a crucial contribution to the realization of human rights. Over a long period of time, it has been the main source of revenue for the Kenyan government. This has increased over the years and peaked with a great reworking of the tax system to foster economic growth and self-sustain our development during the reign of former President Mwai Kibaki. Taxation in Kenya is primarily in the realm of the two tiers of the…
Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Dubai Chamber) has announced the launch of a new website that delivers key insights into the burgeoning markets of Africa. Titled ‘Africa Gateway,’ the online portal acts as a rich knowledge resource designed to equip users with essential information on the most promising countries in the continent to do business, with statistics, strengths and weaknesses, challenges and opportunities the main elements. Accessed via Dubai Chamber’s website at https://africagateway.dubaichamber.com, Africa Gateway currently provides an extensive business overview of 10 African countries; Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda, with…
A report done by the World Bank in 2018 shows that Kenya’s population is aging and the number of the elderly as a percentage of the population is expected to hit 7% by 2050, from the current 3%. This is as a result of an improvement in life expectancy from an average of 49 years in 2006, to 59 years in 2016, and 64 years in 2018. The reducing birthrate has not helped as we have seen the average number of children per family fall sharply, from 8.1 children in 1978 to 4.6 children in 2008, and it is projected to…
Why is a listed bank that belongs to the workers of Kenya (48%), small shareholders (30%) and government (22%) being taken over at a tenth of its value and without paying a cent of cash by a bank that largely belongs to private shareholders in an unprocedural way that runs foul regulations, laws and common sense? BY NBM WRITER To be clear, the National Bank of Kenya (NBK) transaction is an unsolicited hostile takeover of a listed bank that has majority ownership by the public; 60,000 individual investors, National Social Security Fund (NSSF) contributors and Government of Kenya (GoK) by…
BY DAVID ONJILI The just-concluded 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt has cast, expectedly, the spotlight on Kenya’s total lack of care for sports; a story of failed promises, neglected athletes and poor sporting infrastructure. In their party manifesto; Transforming Kenya, Securing Kenya’s prosperity (2013-2017); Jubilee Government anchored several election pledges. The document had three key pillars namely; Unity, Economy, and Openness. Sports and Culture fell under the first pillar, the mission being to celebrate the best in the world. As the manifesto captured, the Jubilee Coalition envisioned to bring prosperity and opportunity for all and sports would be…
BY OLUKAYODE KOLAWOLE For most people living outside Africa, the continent is the home of poverty, corruption, internet fraud, infrastructure deficit, and everything that describes under-development, marginalization, oppression, bad leadership, insecurity, diseases, and many more. Although Africa is truly beset with some perennial development issues, some of these notions are preposterous and not entirely peculiar to the continent. No doubt, for a continent that is richly blessed with numerous natural resources, the economies of the countries within it should be enviable and have the capacity to truly compete with the First World countries. Home to 54 countries, with Nigeria and…
Dutch-Kenya relations: a one-on-one with the Ambassador on the occasion of a three-day visit by the Dutch Healthcare Business delegation to Kenya in search of partnership and investment opportunities in the health sector BY BENARD AYIEKO Does the fact that the Dutch government is increasingly shifting focus from aid to trade pose a threat to the Dutch-Kenya relations? Not at all, In fact, it’s a frontier for new and stronger partnerships on economic diplomacy with Kenya aimed at realizing growth and prosperity for the citizens of the two nations. Basically, the aid-to-trade policy calls for increased private sector engagement. The…
The East African region is facing a huge deficit of qualified risk managers and local public and private organizations need critical hand-holding to ensure risks and opportunities within organisations are effectively identified and managed. The IRM EA Regional Group, a member body of the IRM UK, and Serianu Ltd, have resolved to work together. This is in a bid to develop a fundamental home grown cyber risk management framework for the African context which aims to increase the number of competent risk professionals as well as enhance excellence in cyber risk management and reporting. Serianu is a pan African cyber…
The local pharmaceuticals regulator, has approved the use of Janssen’s once-daily medication ZYTIGA® (abiraterone acetate) for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer ahead of a chemotherapy regime. The approval is expected to help boost ongoing efforts to minimise existing barriers to cancer care access. The prescription only innovator (non generic) oncological management drug is distributed locally by Janssen Kenya as part of the global pharmaceutical firm’s commitment to enhance access of essential drugs. Confirming the recent approval, Janssen Kenya country manager Mr Marseille Onyango said prior to the approval, ZYTIGA had only been licensed for treatment of advanced prostate cancer…