Private Equity | Catalyst Principal Partners Invests in Orbit Chemical Industries, Kenya

Private Equity | Catalyst Principal Partners Invests in Orbit Chemical Industries, Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya, Capital Markets in Africa: East Africa focused private equity firm Catalyst Principal Partners has announced its investment in Orbit Chemical Industries Ltd. The investment enables Orbit Chemical’s ambitious expansion plans by increasing capacity of its existing lines, extending its products range into new synergistic categories, and regionalization of its manufacturing capability, thereby supporting the strong growth of existing as well as new customers across Eastern Africa and beyond. Orbit Chemical is amongst the…

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Kenyan Equity Valuations Buoyed by Low Oil, Politics — Exotix

Kenyan Equity Valuations Buoyed by Low Oil, Politics — Exotix

Nairobi, Kenya, Capital Markets in Africa — Kenya equity valuations that declined over the past year are now among the most attractive in sub-Saharan African frontier markets, supported by the lowest political risk in a decade and favorable global conditions, analysts from Exotix Partners LLP said. Lower oil prices, which benefit net crude importers like Kenya, and the prospect that the timing of U.S. interest-rate increases have been pushed out are expected to foster a “relatively benign environment…

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Private Equity | CDC Group Plc Acquires a 10.7% Stake in I&M Holdings, Kenya

Private Equity  | CDC Group Plc Acquires a 10.7% Stake in I&M Holdings, Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya, Capital Markets in Africa: CDC Group plc (CDC), the UK’s development finance institution, has announced it will take a 10.68 per cent equity stake in the Nairobi-headquartered banking group I&M Holdings (IMHL). The investment underlines CDC’s commitment to supporting lending to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in East Africa. Founded in 1974, IMHL’s commercial banking operations in Kenya rank in the country’s top ten, serving more than 100,000 customers. Having embarked on…

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Central Bank of Kenya Warns About Bad Loans in Banking System

Central Bank of Kenya Warns About Bad Loans in Banking System

NAIROBI, Kenya, Capital Markets in Africa — The amount of non-performing loans in Kenya’s financial system and the inadequate funds set aside to cover them are hampering the industry, Central Bank Governor Patrick Njoroge said, adding his office would conduct more stringent surveillance of the sector. NPLs rose to 6.8 percent of total credit in February from 5.7 percent a year earlier, Njoroge, who’s been in the job for less than a year, told reporters in the capital,…

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Central Bank of Kenya keeps interest rate at 11.50% in March

Central Bank of Kenya keeps interest rate at 11.50% in March

NAIROBI, Kenya, Capital Markets in Africa — The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) met on March 21, 2016 to review market developments and the impact of its previous monetary policy decisions. The MPC decided to retain the Central Bank Rate (CBR) at its current level of 11.5 percent, to continue to anchor inflation expectations and enhance the credibility of its policy stance.  The Bank noted that month-on-month overall inflation fell to 6.8 percent in February 2016,…

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INTO AFRICA: African Economic Outlook in 2016

INTO AFRICA: African Economic Outlook in 2016

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — In 2015, Africa experienced its slowest economic growth rate since the 1998 global financial crisis. The Sub-Saharan Africa real GDP growth fell from 5.0 percent in 2014 to 3.75 percent in 2015 (IMF’s estimates). The downside risks in 2015 (low commodity prices, a slowing in China’s growth and uncertainty in the level of USA’s real growth rate) are expected to spill-over to 2016 but with reduced impact. As…

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African Stock Market January 2016: Tunisia equity triumph, rewards investors amid of global equity markets panic

African Stock Market January 2016: Tunisia equity triumph, rewards investors amid of global equity markets panic

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — Global equity markets opened 2016 on a panic mood amid of negative outlook on China’s growth prospects and commodity slumps. As a result, African equity market performance measured by country equity benchmark index returns ended in negative for the month, with four gainers and fourteen losers on the local currency basis. Still on local basis return, the January’s average return of -3.0 percent (relatively to  -0.9 percent in…

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