Business Archives - Page 3 of 19

Atwoli Elected ITUC Vice President For Fourth Term

21Nov

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Business

Atwoli Elected ITUC Vice President For Fourth Term

Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli has been re-elected for the fourth term to the position of Vice President of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). Atwoli was elected to the post at the ongoing trade union organization's 5th Congress in Melbourne, Australia, with the body boasting of a membership of over 200 million people drawn from 163 Countries. Atwoli's nomination was unanimously approved by more than 2000 delegates, paving the way for his four-year term at ITUC, which is domiciled in Brussels, Belgium. “The position you have just bestowed on me this morning isn't an easy one. You are sending me to fight for working men and women wherever they are in the world. I will never let you down. I will stand for your inter...

Amazon Has began Biggest Layoffs In Its 28-Year History

16Nov

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Business

Amazon Has began Biggest Layoffs In Its 28-Year History

Amazon yesterday began laying off employees, beginning with its Devices & Services division, which makes products like Alexa, Echo speakers, Fire TV, Ring cameras, and cloud gaming service Luna. The e-commerce giant this week will lay off about 10,000 workers, or roughly 3% of its corporate employees, the largest job cut in the company’s 28-year history. The cuts are rolling out team by team, rather than all at once, the New York Times reported on Monday. Limp revealed that Amazon notified the impacted employees yesterday and will help them find new roles within the company. If an employee cannot find a new role internally, Amazon will provide them a “separation payment, transitional benefits, and external job placement support,” he wrote. In response to questions about h...

CBK Directs Banks To Forgive Ksh.15 Billion Defaulted Digital Loans

14Nov

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Business

CBK Directs Banks To Forgive Ksh.15 Billion Defaulted Digital Loans

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has directed banks to write off at least Ksh.15 billion worth of digital loans which currently stand in default status as part of a credit repair framework. The banking sector regulator has asked lenders including microfinance banks and mortgage finance companies to provide a discount of at least 50 per cent of the non-performing mobile-phone digital loans outstanding as of the end of October 2022. Borrowers covered in the write-offs will have their credit standing upgraded to performing from non-performing. “The institution will then enter into a repayment plan with the borrowers for a period up to May 1, 2023, for the balance of the loan. Upon expiry of the framework, the credit standing of the borrowers with respect to these loans will depen...

Kenya Receives Additional Ksh.15.5 Billion Financing From IMF

9Nov

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Business

Kenya Receives Additional Ksh.15.5 Billion Financing From IMF

Kenya has unlocked Ksh.15.5 billion ($127.4 million) in additional financing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This follows successful discussions to amend the country’s ongoing program with the multi-lateral lender to provide additional financing. In a statement Tuesday night, the IMF says the extra financing which is equivalent to $162.84 million worth of special drawing rights (SDRs) covers external financing needs resulting from drought and challenging global financing needs. $1=Ksh.121.67 The additional financing is expected to trickle in as part of the ksh 52.4 billion fourth tranche loan from Kenya’s 38-month program which currently awaits the approval of the IMF Executive Board. Kenya had access to up to Ksh.27.2 billion in beyond its Ksh.284.6 billi...

Kenyans to start paying 16% VAT on Facebook and Instagram Ads from November 1

2Nov

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Kenyans to start paying 16% VAT on Facebook and Instagram Ads from November 1

Meta, Facebook’s parent company has announced that all Facebook ads in Kenya will be subject to value-added tax (VAT) VAT beginning this November. The social media giant said this in a statement issued on Wednesday on their business help centre. ‘’Beginning November 2022, Meta ads in Kenya are subject to a value-added tax (VAT) at the applicable local tax rate. This applies to all advertisers whose ‘Sold To’ country on their business or personal address is set to Kenya.’’ the statement read. Meta says VAT will be added whenever you’re charged for your ads regardless of whether you’re purchasing Meta ads for business or personal purposes. In Kenya, all traders with a turnover of taxable supplies of 5 Million per annum and above are required to register...

Kuria: We’ll Ban Mitumba Once We Find An Alternative

2Nov

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Business

Kuria: We’ll Ban Mitumba Once We Find An Alternative

Investments, Trade and Industry Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria says the government will ban the importation iof second-hand clothes, commonly known as ‘mitumba’, once they find an alternative from the local textile industry. Kuria while speaking at the Chamngamka Shoping Festival in Nairobi on Tuesday pointed out that Kenya exports locally made fabric at a cheaper price than it imports the second-hand clothes. He said his ministry is focused on empowering the local textile industry. “Whatever is required for us to sell to our people the same way we are selling to America, we will do. Once the option is available we will do like South Africa. South Africa banned mitumba. I’m sure you want me to say that we are going to ban mitumba, Yes, we will ban mitumba once we give peo...

Elon Musk Sells Nearly $7 Billion Worth Of Tesla Shares

10Aug

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Elon Musk Sells Nearly $7 Billion Worth Of Tesla Shares

Elon Musk has sold nearly $7 billion worth of Tesla shares, according to legal filings published Tuesday, amid a high-stakes legal battle with Twitter over a $44 billion buyout deal. The Tesla boss sold some 7.9 million shares between August 5 and 9, according to filings published on the Securities and Exchange Commission's website. "In the (hopefully unlikely) event that Twitter forces this deal to close and some equity partners don't come through, it is important to avoid an emergency sale of Tesla stock," Musk, the world's richest man wrote on Twitter late Tuesday. Twitter is locked in a legal battle with the mercurial Tesla boss over his effort to walk away from the April agreement to buy the company, and a judge has ordered that a trial will begin in October. Musk has...

Farmers earn Sh221 million in four days after Uhuru’s intervention

1Aug

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Farmers earn Sh221 million in four days after Uhuru’s intervention

The resumption of miraa exports to Somalia has earned farmers and traders Sh221 million in just four days. Head of Miraa Pyrethrum and other Industrial Crops Felix Mutwiri announced that Kenya had exported 81.4 tonnes of miraa to Mogadishu four days after the market was opened. This represented products from 19 traders from the 22 who had applied to be cleared to access the lucrative Somalia market. We have so far exported 81.4 tonnes in the last four days and we expect the volumes to grow in the coming days as more people are cleared to ship out the commodity,” she said. The traders are selling the stimulant at Sh2,734 per kilo, approximately Sh238 less than the price before Somalia shut down its market. “We have a lot of miraa right now in the farmers an...

23Jul

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Business

CBK Set For Further Interest Rate Hike

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) is widely expected to lift its benchmark lending rate again when it holds its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Wednesday. The expectations on the reserve bank’s monetary stance are largely anchored on prevailing high inflation which in June breached the targeted upper limit of 7.5 per cent to stand at 7.9 per cent in June. In a pre-emptive move at the end of May, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) lifting its benchmark lending rate known as the Central Bank Rate (CBR) for the first time in seven years to 7.5 per cent from a flat seven per cent to curb rising inflation. A further 50 basis points rate hike, the same as in May would move the base lending rate to above the prevailing inflation rate pointing to the efforts by the reserve bank...

Twitter Shares Sink 11.3% After Musk Withdraws Takeover Bid

12Jul

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Business

Twitter Shares Sink 11.3% After Musk Withdraws Takeover Bid

Twitter shares plunged Monday after Elon Musk announced the withdrawal of his $44 billion takeover bid, setting the stage for a potential legal brawl. Shares in the social media giant ended down 11.3 percent at $32.65 in the first session after Musk revealed late Friday he was dropping the takeover plan. Musk followed up on Sunday night with a pair of mocking tweets after the company said it would sue the billionaire entrepreneur to force the deal to go through.