Econet says gets green light to build Kenya network

(Reuters) - Kenya has given South Africa-based Econet Wireless the green light to start building the East African country's third mobile phone network, Econet said on Thursday.

Unlisted Econet said in a statement Kenya had reinstated the company's licence, which was revoked in 2003 amid shareholder wrangling. No one at Kenya's Ministry of Communications could immediately be reached for comment.


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Kenya shilling eases vs dollar on slight demand rise

(Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling eased against the dollar on Tuesday briefly breaking through the key 67.00 level on rising demand for the U.S. currency from all sectors, dealers said.

At 1045 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 66.90/67.10 to the dollar, compared with Monday's close of 66.75/85.


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Kenya shilling firms marginally vs dollar

(Reuters) - The Kenya shilling firmed slightly against the dollar in quiet trade on Monday and dealers expected a stronger local unit in the days ahead.

At 0840 GMT, commercial banks quoted the local unit at 66.75/85 to the greenback, five cents stronger than Friday's close.


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FEATURE-Economy holds Kenya election spotlight

(Reuters) - Kenyans need only look at the rash of properties
transforming the capital's skyline for proof of the country's
economic resurgence in recent years.




"There's more demand than we can meet. People can now afford
housing because of low interest rates," said one developer, who
two years ago employed 15 people and now has 200 on his payroll.


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Kenya businesses say strong shilling is hurting them

(Reuters) - Kenyan companies say the strong shilling is hurting both exporters and businesses competing with cheap imports in the local market, with some saying the current exchange rate amounted to a national crisis.

In early May, Central Bank Governor Njuguna Ndung'u explained the strength of the national currency with a three-year financial boom and growth in sectors like agriculture and tourism.


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Kenya's AccessKenya plans Internet firm takeover

(Reuters) - Newly-listed AccessKenya said on Wednesday it hopes to acquire Todays Online, another Kenyan Internet service provider, but is awaiting regulatory approval.

The company, which raised 800 million shillings in June by listing a 40 percent stake, declined to divulge details of the possible deal.


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Kenya inflation rate rises to 11.1 pct y/y in June

(Reuters) - Kenya's annual inflation rose to 11.1 percent in June from 6.3 percent in May on the back of price increases in food, alcohol and tobacco, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.

However, underlying inflation that excludes food prices fell to 5.2 percent from 5.7 in May.


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Web firm AccessKenya rises 40 pct in share debut

(Reuters) - Shares of Kenyan Internet service provider AccessKenya rose 40 percent to 14 shillings in the debut of the first Internet company on the Nairobi Stock Exchange, brokers said on Monday.

The company had sold 80 million shares, or a 40 percent stake, at 10 shillings each in an initial public offering to raise 800 million shillings and value the company overall at about 2 billion shillings.


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Africa's biggest trade bloc calls for harmonisation

(Reuters) - Africa's myriad regional customs unions must be harmonised if the world's poorest continent is to compete on the world stage, its biggest trading bloc COMESA said on Tuesday.

Heads of state and delegates representing 20 countries and more than 400 million people are expected to endorse COMESA's plans to launch its own customs union in 2008 at the end of a two-day summit in Kenya.


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COMESA trade ministers agree external tariffs - Kenya

(Reuters) - Trade ministers of COMESA, whose members comprise 20-African nations, have agreed on a common external tariff system, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki said on Friday.

He said under the accord, reached in Nairobi on Thursday, the common tariff will be 25 percent for finished goods, 10 percent for intermediate goods and zero for raw materials.


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Kenya telecoms players seek shareholding rule change

(Reuters) - Kenya will have to change its rules on shareholding caps for foreign investors in the telecoms sector in order for the country to get a second national operator soon, to boost competition, analysts said on Tuesday.

Kenyan law requires that 30 percent of telecoms firms be in local hands. This has led to the cancellation of two new licences and a legal tussle among the foreign and local shareholders in the country's third mobile phone operator.


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Kenya seeks partner in Telkom privatisation

(Reuters) - Kenya invited expressions of interest on Wednesday from companies seeking to buy a 26 percent stake in Telkom Kenya, a state-owned landline company, as a strategic partner.

In a newspaper advertisement, the government said it also intended to sell off a further 34 percent of Telkom in an initial public offering once the strategic partner was on board.


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