Business News Kenya

NAIROBI, Oct 15- Google, said on Monday it would offer Motorbike Mode on Google Maps in Kenya, offering the voice navigation service for bike riders in Africa for the first time. "With Google Maps' new Motorbike Mode, users across Kenya will now be able to get directions and turn-by-turn navigation, to suggest routes that are more efficient," it said.

NAIROBI, Sept 14- The International Monetary Fund considers that Kenya's external position is strong, its representative in Nairobi said on Friday, adding that the Fund would continue to support its reform efforts even though a stand-by loan deal has expired. Kenya had secured a six-month extension in March of the $989.8 million arrangement.

NAIROBI, Sept 14- The International Monetary Fund considers that Kenya's external position is strong, its representative in Nairobi said on Friday, adding that the Fund would continue to support its reform efforts even though a stand-by loan deal has expired. Kenya had secured a six-month extension in March of the $989.8 million arrangement.

NAIROBI, Sept 14- The International Monetary Fund considers that Kenya's external position is strong, its representative in Nairobi said on Friday, adding that the Fund would continue to support its reform efforts, even though a stand-by loan deal has expired. Kenya had secured a six-month extension in March of the $989.8 million arrangement.

*Beijing holds major China- Africa summit next week. JOHANNESBURG/ BEIJING, Aug 31- A wave of African nations looking to restructure debt with China on the eve of a major Beijing summit provides a reality check for the continent, where most countries still view Chinese lending as the best bet to develop their economies. Ethiopia and Zambia, heavy borrowers from...

NAIROBI, Aug 30- The Kenyan parliament voted on Thursday to retain the cap on commercial interest rates which the International Monetary Fund has insisted must be scrapped or modified in return for a new standby arrangement. In a response to emailed questions, Jan Mikkelsen, the IMF's Resident Representative for Kenya, said they were aware of the passing of the...

NAIROBI, Aug 29- Kenya Airways expects much better performance in the second half of this year, helped by an improved business environment, and after prolonged election uncertainty in Kenya in the second half of 2017 hit passenger numbers. Kenya Airways this year changed its financial reporting period to match the calendar year. Kenya Airways is showing signs...

NAIROBI, Aug 17- Uber the global ride-hailing company, is considering expanding into two other East African countries before the end of 2018, focusing on low cost services like Chap Chap in Kenya, the company said on Friday. In Kenya, East Africa's richest economy per capita, Uber competes with Estonian ride-hailing firm Taxify, Nairobi- based Mondo Ride and...

PARIS, Aug 16- Shortly after launching a new project in Angola, French oil major Total said it was searching for more resources in Africa, including in Senegal and Mauritania. The company is historically strong in Africa and, buoyed by rising oil prices and improved terms for its multi-billion dollar Kaombo contract in Angola, it is doubling down.

NAIROBI, Aug 9- Taxify, an Estonian ride-hailing company aiming to take on Uber in emerging markets, will invest millions of euros in East Africa in the next five years with a strategy focused on motorised rickshaws and motorcycles, it said on Thursday. In East Africa, that means "boda bodas" and "bajajis", also called "tuk tuks",- local terms for motorcycles and rickshaws,...

*Bob Collymore took 9 months leave due to undisclosed illness. NAIROBI, Aug 6- Kenya's dominant telecoms operator Safaricom does not hinder competition, its chief executive Bob Collymore told lawmakers on Monday as he returned to work after a nine-month absence for medical treatment. The country's industry regulator recommended in a draft proposal in May...

NAIROBI, Aug 3- The International Monetary Fund's mission to assess the Kenyan economy achieved "significant progress" and talks with the government will continue in the coming weeks, the IMF said on Friday after a two week visit to Nairobi. Kenya secured a six-month extension for its stand-by credit arrangement of $989.8 million from the fund in March, and is...

NAIROBI, Aug 3- The International Monetary Fund's mission to assess the Kenyan economy achieved "significant progress" and talks with the government will continue in the coming weeks, the fund said on Friday after a two week visit to Nairobi. It said the East African nation had met its fiscal targets during the 2017/ 18 fiscal year with the budget deficit falling to...

*Project to open Kenya for oil exports. LONDON, July 25- Tullow Oil has stopped work at its Kenyan oilfields and halted trucking operations after protests by the local community disrupted a transport scheme, its chief executive said on Wednesday. The British company aims to produce the first oil from the $2.9 billion Kenya project by 2021, which would open up the...

*Ethiopia's economy has faced crippling forex shortage. ADDIS ABABA, July 20- A "hard currency amnesty" and reform-driven confidence in Ethiopia's economy, both at home and abroad, have helped close a once yawning gap between the official and black market exchange rates for its birr currency. Businesses and analysts in the capital Addis Ababa told Reuters on...

NAIROBI, July 18- Kenya will launch its international financial centre in the capital Nairobi later this year to attract large foreign financial firms and boost capital flows, its finance minister said on Wednesday. The government of East Africa's biggest economy has been working with Qatar since 2014 to build a financial centre in Nairobi that mirrors...