Japan overtakes China as Kenya’s biggest source of loans
25 April 2022
Good morning.
Last week, Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and DR Congo agreed to form a regional army that will fight armed groups in Eastern Congo.
Japan overtakes China as Kenya’s biggest source of loans
Kenya’s budget estimates for the financial year 2022/2023 listed Japan as the largest source of bilateral loans and grants.
China is projected to lend Kenya Ksh29.46 billion for the fiscal year 2022/23, a decline from Ksh140.03 billion in the 2015/16 budget.
Funding from Japan will be for projects under the infrastructure Department (KSh17.66 billion), the Energy ministry (KSh9.17 billion), and the Treasury (Ksh2 billion).
Five countries:
a. Japan (Ksh31.11 billion)
b. China (Ksh29.46 billion)
c. France (Ksh23.36 billion)
d. Germany (Ksh14.42 billion)
e. Italy (Ksh6.07 billion)
account for 81.66% of projected bilateral loans in the year starting July.MARKETS
The Coffee auction will take a one month break in May
The Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) announced that it will hold its last auction on May 4th before breaking for a month. This is a result of the decline of high-quality beans for trading.
“The auction normally goes on recess around June of every year but this year it will break early because of a shortage of quality beans to trade.”
The main crop season started in November last year with the crop sustaining the market up to this month when the ratio of high-quality beans started dwindling.
What next for the auction? - The auction will bank on the short-season crop from eastern and parts of western Kenya when it resumes in June.
TECHNOLOGY
Google announced the launch of a product development center in Nairobi
Google launched a product development center in Nairobi, its first on the continent. The center will enable Google to build “transformative” products and services for the African market and the world.
Google stated that it would hire over 100 tech talents including software engineers, researchers, and designers over the next two years to help solve difficult and technical challenges.
ENERGY
1. Oil marketers are seeking payments from the Government for fuel trucking from Mombasa
Oil marketers are now demanding compensation for trucking fuel from Mombasa. If granted, the additional compensation could lead to increased costs of fuel (this is if the State opts to directly increase pump prices to cater to the compensation)
Distribution costs account for ksh 3.35 per litre of petrol and ksh 3.05 for every litre of dieselBackground: Marketers traditionally get fuel supplies from Kenya Pipeline Company depots at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Nairobi Terminal, Konza, Nakuru, Eldoret, and Kisumu.
The decommissioning of Line 1 (the 40-year-old pipeline) two years ago because of safety issues reduced the pumping of fuel from 1,500 cubic meters to 950 cubic meters per hour.
2. Kenya Pipeline Company Acquired Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited
Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) concluded the takeover of State-owned Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited(KPRL).
This is the second time the facility will exchange hands in the past eight years after Shell and the British Petroleum Company BP sold it to Indian investor Essar Energy Overseas Limited in 2016.
KPRL has 45 tanks with a total storage capacity of 484 million liters out of which 254 million liters are reserved for refined products while the remaining 233 million litres are reserved for crude oil.
COMPANIES
More trouble for Kenya Airways ?
Two aircraft leasing firms have rejected Kenya Airways’ proposals to reduce the cost of hiring their planes. The firms resorted to grounding their planes at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi.
Background: Last year, Kenya Airways struck a deal with the lessors of its planes to only pay for the leased aircraft when it is flown. The deal resulted in the cost of maintaining its fleet dropping from Ksh 28.5 billion in 2020 to Ksh 16.6 billion in 2021.
According to data from its financial report in the year ended December 2021, Kenya Airways has a fleet of 42 aircraft, either owned or on leaseCODING
New syllabus for teaching coding in Kenyan primary and secondary schools
The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development KICD approved a new syllabus for teaching coding in primary and secondary schools.
The coding classes will be offered by Kodris Africa, an online publishing firm that specializes in equipping learners with 21st-century skills such as creative problem solving and algorithmic thinking right from the elementary level.
WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED LAST WEEK
Prompt Payments Bill
l Public entities will now be compelled to pay suppliers within two months of receiving an invoice. This follows changes to the Prompt Payments Bill that had recommended payment within 90 days. Pending bills by MDAs stood at KES 467.7B as of December last year
Netflix to introduce advertisements
After its customer base fell by 200,000 subscribers in Q1 of 2022, Netflix unveiled plans to introduce low-cost subscriptions that will be supported by ads to boost customer acquisition.
Automation of the transport system in Nairobi
The Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) embarked on a project to automate the transport system in Nairobi.
The project involves the introduction of automated fare collection, automatic vehicle management, passenger information, onboard video surveillance, and bus terminal solutions.
— The NMS has contracted Kentkart Group – a firm dealing with information technology for public transport – to implement the project.