FINANCE EA DAILY BUSINESS NEW SUMMARY
Why Kenyans are staring at more pain at the pump
Kenyans should brace themselves for more pain at the pump with the Government expected to hike the cost of fuel today.
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra), according to industry sources, is likely to increase pump prices by at least Sh10 at the pump even as the government cushions consumers by about Sh40 per litre through its subsidy…The Standard
NSE tipped for further decline as inflation, rates hike batter economy
The country could be looking at the onset of a prolonged bear market (prolonged price declines) amid rising interest rates, inflation and the spillover effects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Senior Portfolio Manager at ICEA Lion George Kamau said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which meets on July 27, is expected to raise the Central Bank Rate by between 50 and 100 basis points (0.5 to one per cent).
It could be the second consecutive rise in the benchmark rate in two months, after the Central Bank of Kenya’s (CBK) decision-making organ raised the rate by 50 basis points on May 30. The committee had hitherto kept the rate unchanged, with the last change having been in July 2015 when the rate hit 11.5 per cent, the highest at the time…The Standard
Treasury unlocks charity billions with new tax rule
The Treasury has expanded the list of firms that qualify for tax exemption for cash donated to charity, boosting financial support to poor and vulnerable Kenyans.
In changes through the Income Tax Act (ITA), the Treasury said all firms making donations to charity organisations registered under the Companies Act, the Societies Act or the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) Coordination Act would qualify for tax relief….Daily Nation
Kenya pursues waivers of IMF loan conditions
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) board will meet on July 18 to review Kenya’s request for an additional Sh28 billion ($244 million) in emergency loan, even as the country fell behind on key commitments including the establishment of a central payroll.
The IMF has revealed Kenya has requested certain waivers on the programme, indicating the country has failed to meet some of the conditions set in April last year when the fund approved a $2.34 billion (about Sh257 billion) loan to Kenya.
Kenya was expected to, among others, reform State enterprises, conduct a special audit on Covid-19 expenditure and enforce wealth declaration by public servants to access the loan in tranches….BusinessDaily
Civil servants Sh100bn pay cut set for October
Civil servants will lose Sh2 billion weekly from October after the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) set the date for trimming public workers’ juicy allowances. SRC chairperson Lyn Mengich said the review of a policy that will guide allowances in the public service is 80 percent complete and will be implemented in the next three months, paving the way for elimination and merger of some perks in October.
There are currently over 247 remunerative and facilitative allowances, up from 31 in 1999, payable within the public sector and they have the effect of doubling a worker’s monthly pay and account for 48 percent of the State wage bill.
The State aims to cap allowances at a maximum of 40 percent of a public worker’s gross pay, shifting from the present unregulated model that inflates the workers’ take-home…BusinessDaily
Safaricom share price rallies to Sh30 on new buying wave
Safaricom’s share price continued to gain Tuesday when it hit a high of Sh30, staging one of the biggest recoveries in the past two weeks. The telco closed at an average of Sh29.5, having traded at a range of between Sh28.35 and Sh30. This marked a gain of 4.6 percent compared to Friday last week when it traded at Sh28.2.
The stock has rallied 30 percent from the 52-week low of Sh23 recorded on June 27, signaling that investors have turned bullish on the telco.
The selloff that had pulled the company’s market value below Sh1 trillion was attributed to indiscriminate dumping of Kenya’s listed equities as foreign investors fled riskier frontier and emerging markets in general….BusinessDaily