BUSINESS NEWS

Dimension Data Plc has bid over 3 billion shillings for Kenyan information technology firm Access Kenya as part of moves to expand in sub-Saharan Africa. The proposed acquisition is the first of a Nairobi-listed firm since a peaceful presidential election in March restored confidence in the economy which was sent [...]

EU officials have said Google-owned Motorola Mobility abused its position in Germany’s mobile market when it filed a patent injunction against Apple. Motorola won an injunction over Apple products that used patents relating to data transmission technology in February 2012. Apple offered to pay Motorola a license fee for using [...]

Equity Bank has posted a 21 per cent increase in its net profit for the first quarter of 2013 to Sh3.2 billion from Sh2.6 billion the same period last year. The bank’s net loans and advances grew by 15 per cent to Sh139.5 billion from Sh121.1 billion in the same [...]

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that the country is likely to start producing oil in six to seven years. In a new report published after consultations with government officials, the fund termed Kenya’s recent oil discoveries in northern Turkana as commercial. IMF representatives held 10-day consultations with Kenya [...]

NIC Bank Pre-tax profit growth eased in the first quarter, held back by a business slowdown ahead of presidential elections held in March this year. The bank lifted profit by 20 percent to 1.2 billion shillings ($14.31 million) for the Jan-March period, compared with 29 percent expansion in the same [...]

British American Tobacco has joined hands with the Kenya Revenue Authority to curb the trade of counterfeit products. BAT Kenya Managing Director Gary Fagan however says sale of counterfeit products is a global menace that needs to be eradicated. Speaking at a media briefing Fagan however noted that sale of [...]

Gulf African Bank has signed a 100 million shilling agreement with the African Guarantee Fund to support lending to small and medium sized enterprises in the country. Gulf African Bank Managing Director Asad Ahmed says the agreement will boost and diversify SME service. He also added that the deal will [...]

Samsung Electronics has posted a record quarterly profit, boosted mainly by growing sales of its smartphones. The results are in sharp contrast with rival Apple, which earlier this week reported a drop in quarterly profits for the first time in a decade. Samsung displaced Apple as the world’s biggest smartphone [...]

General Electric Company (GE) and Safaricom have signed a 100, 000,000 million deal that will see GE supply Safaricom with 48 Durathon batteries. The newly launched batteries will capacitate Safaricom network and help it run efficiently during power outages. Safaricom’s Director of Technology Thibaud Rerolle hailed the new technology saying [...]

The World Bank this week highlighted Africa’s progress in reducing poverty. Its latest global poverty update shows that the region’s $1.25-a-day poverty rate fell from 58.1% in 1999 to 47.5% in 2008. A recent report by consultancy McKinsey & Co, noting that Africa has the world’s fastest growing population, said [...]