The investment consortium that has issued a notice of intention to acquire BOC Kenya Plc (NSE: BOC) the listed and leading supplier of industrial, medical and special gases in East Africa has confirmed that the bid has the support of the majority shareholder, BOC Holdings. Carbacid Investments Limited (CIL) (NSE: CARB) in collaboration with Aksaya Investments LLP said that the ongoing intended offer had the blessings of United Kingdom-based BOC Holdings who are BOC Kenya Plc’s single largest shareholder. The two local investment firms last month announced a Sh1.2b takeover bid for 100% shares of BOC Kenya Plc, subject to regulatory approvals.…
Author: NBM CORRESPONDENT
Business and civil society executives from across Africa joined United Nations leaders at a virtual UN Global Compact gathering to call for greater commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals in response to challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Just over 2,000 executives and experts from 35 African countries attended the virtual Making Global Goals Local Business – Africa meeting. Speakers included United Nations deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed, Othman Benjelloun, CEO of Bank of Africa Group BMCE, Celestin Mukeba, CEO, Equity Bank Congo, Siddarth Ramaswamy, vice president, Unilever West Africa and Jane Karuku, CEO, EABL. They participated in sessions covering…
The Mortgage Regulation 2020 has the potential to increase the elusive home ownership in the country, key property industry players and pension industry leaders have said. The regulation stipulates that the funds accessed from the Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company can only be used on a dwelling house for residential purposes with members accessing up to 40% of the accrued benefits. “The regulation comes after section 38 of the Retirement Benefits Act was recently amended to allow members of retirement benefit schemes to utilize a proportion of their accrued benefits to purchase a residential house. It caps the funds at Sh7…
BY ERIC KIMUNGUYI There is a device being used rather often lately by our most vocal lobbyists as they chase new regulation or the overturning of old rules: Europe has banned it, or done it, or changed it, they are telling us, as a reason to reshape our own policies. However, the problem with this form of case building, just as when our children tell us their friend’s parents allow it or have bought it, is that the comparison comes without circumstantial detail, and with the possibility of being untrue in the way it is presented, or, at the very…
BY DAVID ONJILI The evolution of professional football has undergone many stages. There was an era when clubs had the ultimate say. Players would die to feature for certain clubs and fans had undying allegiance to them. Lately, however, this has changed. More and more fans especially the young have turned their allegiance from clubs to individual players. Arsene Wenger, retired Arsenal FC manager once admitted that he envisions a future where the next generation of soccer fans would pledge more allegiance to players than clubs. This meant that their loyalty to players would make them support different clubs as…
When you adhere to the spiritual principles that enable recovery, you should do it with the conviction that you are doing it for yourself BY JACOB OKETCH It is painful to see a friend slide back to alcoholism just after getting out of a rehab. We are human and there are all sorts of temptations that one needs to watch out for. With the vibrancy that is out there, there is no guarantee that one can keep to the straight and narrow. I have just called a friend who left the rehab a week ago and he is dead drunk.…
BY BRENDA VIOLA The ceiling looked duller today. I should know because I have been staring at it for quite some time now, a few days if I am to be completely honest, or even months. On second thought, I really didn’t know how much time had passed. Perhaps it was time that I awoke from my bed, maybe open the curtains a little bit to let in the sunlight. I may even do a little cleaning. Who knows! I have simply existed, giving little to no effort to the world, sitting and laying in the dark. My trips to…
Kingwa Kamencu is a media practioner, writer, and human rights defender among other things. She is also the CEO of Blackstar Media Limited. She captured the nation’s attention when she expressed her interest to vie for the presidency in 2013 and even went ahead and announced her candidacy in a memorable press conference at Chester House though she withdrew her candidacy before the actual election. She has stoked controversy in social media regarding some of her posts largely because not much is known about this brilliant young woman leader from Kenya. In this wide-ranging interview with NBM’s Jacob Oketch, in…
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has launched a new mobile application that is to enable taxpayers to access tax services from anywhere on their devices. The new application, dubbed the KRA M-Service App, will allow users to access services such as PIN registration, verification processes, filing their returns and making their payments. With a majority of Kenyans having access to a mobile phone, the app is convenient and easy to use. According to Caxton Masudi, deputy commissioner policy and tax advisory, KRA is taking on an innovating approach, not just with the app, but also by shifting their focus to…
With low operational visibility, slow, outdated processes and a vision of growing its footprint, one of Africa’s oldest dairy processor and distributor turned to technology to transform its operations and get it in shape for the 21st century digital economy. The Kenya Co-operative Creameries (KCC) was founded in 1925 and is the largest dairy distributor in East Africa. The company was registered as a state corporation in 2005 and renamed New Kenya Co-operative Creameries Ltd. The company came into international prominence in the late 1930s supplying butter and condensed milk to British troops during World War II and later on in…