Author: The Exchange

Bearish sentiment was the overarching theme in the Kenya equities markets, due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic that has made the possibility of a global recession closer to reality. On a year-to-date (YTD) basis, the NSE-20 and NASI have posted negative returns of 24.1% and 15.6%, respectively. Notable out-performers YTD are Barclays ETF Gold (+23.7% YTD), a security whose value is pegged on the value of gold (a safe haven asset), Kenya Airways (+53.7% YTD) on a recent price rally, and Uchumi Supermarkets (+6.9% YTD). All other stocks at the NSE are in the red zone YTD, save for WPP ScanGroup that is at break even.

The bearish market, the ensuing global economic recession coupled with uncertainty around resolution of the Covid-19 pandemic, has shifted investors’ risk appetite to safer assets with the price of the Barclays NewGold ETF rising by about 23.7% this year, following accumulation of …

The impact technology has on our world is profound and, some might say, immeasurable. Outside our personal lives, it continues to change industries and global markets at a rapid pace every single day. Foreign exchange, or forex, is one of those financial institutions that are evolving with groundbreaking advancements. But before we can fully appreciate the effects of disruptive technology on forex today and possibly the future, we have to look at how it began.

How Forex Was Traded in the Past

Trading forex is as old as the history of civilizations. In ancient times, people exchanged goods and services for a price, even if that price was represented by raw materials or food. The problem was assigning value fairly — people disagreed on whether or not the items being bartered were equal to each other. To solve this, Thought Co. points out that early civilizations developed commodity money and …

“It’s getting better by the day,” said Minal Shah, who has two children that attend the Academy. “It took us a few days, in the beginning, to settle with the new routines and now it’s become a new way of learning for all of us.”

Most Academy parents have found that the best way they can help their child during online learning is to help them organise their time wisely, provide a good workspace and be there for them for moral support.

“We have been providing a quiet and conducive study location for our child,” said Colin Williams, a parent of an Academy student. “Lots of hugs and emotional support are also included, along with additional art supplies, books, and study materials. We’re also answering any questions our daughter may have and we help her with researching.”

With schools being shut, daily routines have become less structured. This has encouraged …

Whether we like it or not at some point we will have to say goodbye to this world we call home. Bad enough is that we do not know when it will be our last time on earth.

Due to these few facts, it becomes necessary to take up a funeral cover. Also known as burial insurance this is a form of insurance that pays a specified amount of money in the event of a death by ensuring that the costs of a funeral will be covered so that family members do not have to struggle financially at this difficult time.

A majority of families in Africa depend on relatives and friend’s contribution to manage a burial ceremony for their loved ones.

We can all agree that funerals are very costly and their expense can’t be carried by a single person. Funeral ceremonies in many major African cities can take …

Uganda’s delayed oil production could affect economic outlook

https://theexchange.africa/countries/delayed-oil-production-could-affect-economic-outlook-world-bank/

According to the World Bank, Uganda could face serious economic pressures in the immediate future especially with delay in oil production. It has advised that the country would do well to develop its other major sectors – agriculture and industry – as they can guarantee immediate and steady growth outcomes instead of relying heavily mostly on Uganda’s oil production ambitions.

Uganda’s economy must grow faster- World Bank

https://theexchange.africa/countries/ugandas-economy-must-grow-faster-world-bank/

A recent World Bank report, “Uganda: Jobs strategy for inclusive growth” reveals that the country could find itself in a crisis of more workers than jobs unless the economy grows concomitantly.  The report states than an economic transformation is required and Uganda should start with developing commercial agriculture that accounts for about 80 per cent of annual export earnings; the sector employs more than 80 per cent of the workforce in agriculture sector.…

In this column called “The Indicator,” we will be taking an economic or financial statistic from East Africa and breaking it down into bite-sized nuggets of knowledge for investors.

This month’s indicator figure is 63

63 what?

There are exactly 63 investors focused on early stage, seed, or “angel” investing in the East African Community (EAC) countries according to Angel List, a global platform for start-up investing that seeks to “democratize the investment process and to help start-ups with their challenges in fundraising and talent”.

What is an angel investor and what do they seek to invest into?

An angel investor is a term for typically a wealthy individual who invests in a start-up, early stage, seed stage, at the new company level,or in relatively new companies that are looking for a higherreturn on the higher risk of business start-ups.

In East Africa, angel investors typically invest anywhere from US$1,000 …

As at 2015 the informal sector employed over 80% of the Kenyan working population as was reported in an article published by the Institute of Economic Affairs. The same is the case in most developing countries, where the informal sector accounts for up to half of most economic activity.

While the informal sector accounts for a significant proportion of the workforce in the East African region, its impact on GDP is largely outsized by the more formal sectors of the economy when the value of output is taken into consideration.The informal sector in Kenya only accounts for slightly above 30% of the GDP. Over 60% of those working in this sector are youth between 18–35 years, and half of them are women.

The resulting assumption, as is characteristic of the informal sector in an economy, is that a majority of the players do not register or comply with any regulations.They …

The Finance Bill, that became law as of February 1, 2020, among other things, increased the Value Added Tax (VAT) rate from 5% to 7.5%. The additional revenue is intended to fund healthcare, education and infrastructure. To mitigate the impact of the VAT rate increase, the Government expanded the list of VAT-exempt items to include staples such as bread,cereals, all kinds of fish, flour and starch meals;fruits, nuts, pulses and vegetables,root vegetables, meat and poultry products,milk,salt and herbs, and natural water and table water.

The Bill is also not intended to be a ‘one-off’ document as the government intends to amend the Finance Act annually along with each appropriation Bill; as a way to ensure that there exists a more integrated fiscal structure in governance, and more efficient planning.

The key changes in the statute lean towards the Federal Government’s stance that the ‘common man’ was considered in the development …

Born in Maisons-Laffitte, France, in December 1961, Ghislaine Maxwell has a net worth of $ 20 million as of 2021. She was the youngest of nine children born to publisher tycoon and after called conman Robert Maxwell and socialist Elizabeth Maxwell. She spent her childhood in Buckinghamshire in a large house of 53-rooms. Maxwell graduated from the University of Oxford. She has a long list of her siblings, Isabel Maxwell, Christine Maxwell, Kevin Maxwell, and Ian Maxwell. She was the director of the Oxford United Football Club and founded the Kit Cats Club. Together with this, she was a prominent member of the London social scene in the 1980s.

On top of that, her father’s fortune was around $ 1.9 billion. Upon his death, a shocking revelation stunned everyone, creditors would find out that Maxwell’s business empire owed $ 4 billion in debt. After his death, it was revealed that …

Songas –Tanzania’s leading gas-to-power company announced the appointment of Anael Samuel as the new Managing Director of the company with immediate effect.

The Tanzanian national takes over from Nigel Whittaker who was recently appointed as the company’s board Chairperson.

Under his new role, Anael will lead the company to continue its excellent operational performance and availability and continue to work on its plans to invest over USD65 million (approximately TZS126 billion) to expand its generation capacity at the Songas Ubungo Power Plant from the current 180 MW to 245MW.

Read Also: Tanzania: GE upgrades gas turbines at Songas Ubungo Power Plant

Anael joined Songas in April 2014 as Chief Financial Officer responsible for managing all financial planning, reporting and management of risk for the company. Prior to joining Songas, he held senior roles at Intra Energy Tanzania Limited, Tanga Cement and Unilever. Anael holds an MBA qualification from the University …