BRITAM POST SH 1 BILLION LOSS FOR 2015

Financial services group Britam Holdings has sunk into a Sh1 billion net loss for 2015 weighed down by poor performance of the Nairobi Securities Exchange that hit its equity assets.

The company which had in 2014 made a net profit of Sh2.5 billion said a downturn in the performance of the securities market led to a loss of Sh2.8 billion last year on its financial assets at fair value compared to a gain of Sh4.1 billion in the previous year.

Britam Holdings is among 18 other listed firms in Kenya that had issued a profit warning for the 2015 trading period. In 2014, only 11 companies had issued profit warnings, a pointer to the tough environment companies faced last year.

Data from the NSE shows investors lost Sh250 billion last year as a result of the market's bear run compared to 2014. The value of their wealth as measured by market capitalisation dropped to Sh2.05 trillion in 2015 from Sh2.30 trillion a year before, the end-year statistics by the NSE indicate.

Despite the poor returns from its equity investments, Britam recorded a 38 per cent rise in revenue to Sh20.3 billion from Sh14.7 billion in 2014. Revenue from insurance business grew by 40 per cent to Sh19.6 billion from Sh14 billion previously.

Income from property investments increased by 31 per cent to Sh4.6 billion from Sh3.5 billion. The holding company's assets rose by seven per cent to a total value of Sh77.6 billion.

KCB LOSES BID TO BUY CHASE BANK TO QATARI LENDER

KENYA's largest lender by assets, KCB Group, has reportedly lost its bid to purchase distressed Chase Bank.

KCB is said to have come in third from four bids the Central Bank of Kenya received for purchase of the SME lender.

Chase Bank went down after misreported insider loans caused depositors to make a run on it.

Qatari lender, QNB, the second largest bank in Africa and the Middle East, is said to be the front runner to take over Chase Bank.

If it is successful, it will take over an entity with an enviable portfolio of small businesses that other banks have been angling for to drive their growth.
Rand Merchant Bank of South Africa was reportedly second in the bid with KCB coming in third. CBK has yet to formally make any official announcement regarding the matter but insiders indicate QNB may get the nod.

Chase shareholders have been pushing for CBK to bring in someone to run the bank rather than go the Good Bank - Bad Bank way which they feel would destroy the lender.

Also being mentioned is French lender BNP Paribas but this is seen as a long shot with few European lenders seeking to expand on the continent. Nedbank SA has equally been mentioned as a possible candidate.

OPARANYA VS WETANGULA

GOVERNOR WYCLIFFE OPARANYA ASKS FORD KENYA TO FOLD UP: 

I take serious issue with Hon Moses Wetangula’s weekend call to the Luhya community to join Ford- Kenya and reject any politician who is not in this party. 

That statement goes against the spirit of the coalition and raises questions about Hon Wetangula’s commitment to CORD and why the coalition should back him when he is wrecking, undermining and weakening it from within. 

As ODM Deputy Party Leader, I wish to let Hon Wetangula know that ODM is the party with the largest following and highest number of elected leaders in Western Kenya. It is a fact that Ford Kenya has only three elected MPs in all of former Western Province. There is a problem when big rivers begin to join small rivers. 

I therefore advise anyone from this region who wants to ascend to national leadership, including Hon Wetangula, to join ODM instead of fighting it. 

I also wish to remind Hon Wetangula that when the Luhya community rallied behind ODM leader Raila Odinga and Musalia Mudavadi and won elections in 2007, he is one of the people who teamed up with Mt Kenya colleagues to frustrate and steal that victory. At that time, even our neighbours from the Rift Valley had teamed up with us to form a formidable western alliance that would have kept power in this region. 

The stolen ODM victory was the clearest path for the Luhya community to get the Presidency. Raila would certainly have handed over power to Musalia Mudavadi whom he proceeded to make a Deputy Prime Minister under the Grand Coalition Government in addition to making Hon Kenneth Marende the best Speaker of the National Assembly that Kenya has had. 
In Kenya’s highly tribal politics, ODM, which is the single largest party in the country, offers the best chance for the Luhya community to ascend to power. Our best bet as a community is to stay in ODM and position ourselves to use it to ascend to power. Kenya is big, divided and complex. We will navigate it using a large party that has learnt the art of navigation, not through a party struggling in one or two counties. Our community will follow an arrangement that enhances its chances and uplifts rather than diminishes the stature of its leaders. Wetangula should fold up Ford Kenya and join the community in ODM. Good leaders listen to and follow their people. 

H.E WYCLIFFE OPARANYA; 
ODM DEPUTY PARTY LEADER 
GOVERNOR; 
COUNTY OF KAKAMEGA. 
KAKAMEGA; 
APRIL 11, 2016 

PANIC as Love goes sour in MAASAI MARA UNIVERSITY

A third year student studying Computer science in Maasai Mara University has been found murdered in her room.

Emmy Jelimo was found dead by her friends this morning in a cube shared by two,it has been reported.

According to reports from her close friends,the murder is alleged to his Ex  boyfriend who has not been named for security reasons.

Her rummate who they share the room with at Manyatta,a residential place,said the murdered had 'exiled' her and this death stands mysterious to her.

"We have been close friends with Emmy.Yesterday she sent me to exile till this morning when I came back and discovered her death,"
"its mysterious to me but somebody must be behind it,"said the lady who pleaded anonymity

Police have launched a probe to establish the cause of the student's death and whoever is convicted will be apprehended.