FINANCE EA DAILY BUSINESS NEW SUMMARY
Where investors made money in 2022 first half
Government securities and fixed deposits in banks offered Kenyan investors the highest returns in the first half of the year as listed shares took a beating in the wake of foreigners’ flight from emerging markets.
Investors in Kenya’s real estate also received measly returns from sale of homes, rent and disposal of land on a slow recovery of the property sector from Covid-19 economic fallout.
The Business Daily analysis of the different asset classes in the six months to June shows that the highest available returns locally came from offering loans to the government, which stepped up borrowing to plug shortfalls from revenues and increased spending…BusinessDaily
Keroche now sends home 370 on KRA lockdown
Troubled beer-maker Keroche Breweries has sent home 370 workers on indefinite unpaid leave following a protracted tax dispute with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) that has seen it shut down its operations for months. The brewer said on Thursday it has decided to send its workers home after operational funds dried up following the taxman’s closure of the firm on May 15.
KRA has vowed not to reopen the brewer, accusing it of disregarding a deal to stagger payment of taxes and failing to pay excise taxes even after the taxman lifted the blockade on the plant in March…BusinessDaily
Inflation rises to 58-month high as goods prices soar
Kenya’s inflation hit a 58-month high in June on soaring prices of food items, breaching the government’s upper limit target for the first time since August 2017.
The inflation — a measure of annual changes in the cost of living— hit 7.9 percent in June from 7.1 percent in May, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday.
This is the first time year-on-year inflation crossed the upper limit of 7.5 percent since August 2017 when it climbed to 8.04 percent on a biting drought at the time…BusinessDaily
IMF loan third tranche to delay to mid-July
Kenya will get the new tranche of Sh28 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the new financial year, a delay that could complicate the funding of the budget in an election year. Treasury Principal Secretary Julius Muia said the money, which is the third tranche under the IMF programme, is expected in the new financial year that starts Friday, with the IMF giving indications the money may be wired by mid-July.
IMF reached a staff-level agreement with Kenyan officials on April 25 pending a board approval for the release of the funds…BusinessDaily
HFC partners with Britam in new education insurance plan
HFC, through its bancassurance intermediary, has partnered with Britam Holdings to launch a convenient and flexible education policy dubbed Elimu.
The product is set to enable parents to provide an uninterrupted quality education for their children with high returns, flexible terms and guaranteed payouts.
The education plan will be available from HFC and underwritten by Britam Holdings as part of HFC’s diversification strategy…The Standard
Cost of living shoots to the highest since August 2017
A report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) has revealed that inflation in June has increased by about one per cent, making it the highest since August 2017.
KNBS recorded inflation at 7.9 per cent in June. This is an increase from the previous month, which recorded 7.1 per cent. The Bureau has attributed the inflation rise to the increase in price of basic commodities…The Standard