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Ormsby seizes playoff, makes big leap

Australian Wade Ormsby defeated Scott Vincent from Zimbabwe on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff yesterday to win the Jakarta International Championship following one of the closest finishes seen on the Asian Tour this season.

Ormsby triumphed after making a routine par on the par-four 18th, where Vincent found water with his second shot.

Ormsby trailed the frontrunner and playing partner Vincent all day, with a stacked leaderboard meaning the tournament could have been won by a whole host of players. A crucial eight-footer for par on the 18th by Ormsby in regulation play forced the event into overtime. Vincent had left the door open when he made a bogey on 16 and missed a six-foot birdie putt on 17.

Both Ormsby and Vincent shot one-under-par 69s to finished tied on 12-under.

Vincent’s brother Kieran (67) and Mun Do-Yeob (67) from Korea tied for third along with Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert (68), Poom Saksansin (69) and Sadom Kaewkanjana (69), missing the playoff by one shot.

Kieran Vincent came agonisingly close to making the playoff but also found water on 18 and made a bogey. It’s Ormsby’s fifth victory on the Asian Tour and second on The International Series. His last win came at the International Series Thailand in 2023.

The victory also made up for being penalised one shot after his round on Saturday when he was judged to have accidentally moved his ball when he addressed it on the fourth. He’s also been enduring a poor season with his best being tied 21st at the International Series India.

“It was a bit of a grind,” said Ormsby, who hung in there by making nine straight pars on the back nine. “Probably didn’t have my best stuff out there today, but I was just hanging in there. Feel bad for Scotty, you know, he kind of let a couple slip at the end there. But I hit a couple of great shots in that playoff hole, so that makes me feel better about the whole thing.”

Ormsby moves into fifth place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit and third on The International Series Rankings. Vincent regained the lead over Kazuki Higa on the Merit list after the Japanese finished in a tie for 33rd this week. He also goes top of The International Series Rankings, leapfrogging Lucas Herbert from Australia.

The Asian Tour has a week off now before the Macao Open.

Direct flights to US resume Oct 26 after decade-long absence

Direct flights between Thailand and the United States will resume on Oct 26 after being terminated a decade ago over US aviation regulator’s safety concerns.

United Airlines has announced the return of daily flights between Bangkok and Los Angeles from Oct 26 – making it the first carrier from either country to offer a direct connection since 2015.

The downgrade of Thailand’s aviation safety from Category 1 to Category 2 in 2015 by the US Federal Aviation Administration banned direct flights. Hopes for a resumption grew after the US aviation regulator reinstated Thailand in the top category in April this year.

United said direct flights between the Thai capital and the US west coast will stop over in Hong Kong. The airline will operate a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on the route.

Thai Airways International has no direct flights to US destinations, partly due to strong competition on the cross-Pacific routes.

Former transport minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit said in June he was keen to see the national carrier return to US cities, to boost Suvarnabhumi airport as a hub with a network to all major destinations. However, CEO Chai Eamsiri said the route was not on the Thai airline’s additional destination list.

Four times your salary: What it really take to protect those you love

An ideal life insurance cover should range between four and eight times one’s annual gross salary, financial experts say, a figure that often surprises many first-time policy seekers.

Life insurance is about protecting your family’s future, ensuring that in your absence, they can grieve, heal, and rebuild without financial distress. But how do insurers decide what your life is worth, and what determines how much you should actually be covered for?

Fertiliser imports slide for second year running

Kenya’s fertiliser imports have dropped for the second straight year, signalling a cooling of the government’s subsidy programme that drove record shipments in 2023 and stood at the heart of President William Ruto’s food security agenda.

Data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that the country imported 443,701 tonnes of fertiliser between January and June 2025, valued at nearly Sh25.63 billion, down from 445,857 tonnes worth Sh27.71 billion in the same period of 2024.

Kiru, Michi, Chinga factories bag top prices in maiden orthodox tea sale

Kiru, Michi and Chinga tea factories netted the highest prices at the maiden orthodox tea held about a fortnight ago, disclosures show.

Records from the regional auction in Mombasa showed that tea from Kiru, which is located in Mathioya, Murang’a County, fetched the highest price at $3.87 (Sh500.15) a kilo during the sale, followed by Michi $3.77 (Sh487.23), Chinga $3.76 (Sh485.94), and Kagwe $3.70 (Sh478.18).

Credit rating upturn a catalyst for Vision 2030, SDG financing

Kenya’s recent upgrade by S and P Global Ratings from B- to B is more than a technical adjustment, it’s a turning point in the country’s economic story.

As Kenya edges closer to joining Botswana, Mauritius and Morocco among Africa’s investment-grade economies, the ripple effects are already being felt: Eurobond yields have dropped by 0.6 percent, unlocking an estimated $220 million in potential savings on debt service.

Biwott’s son-in-law sells Kestrel Capital to eight investors

A Canadian investor has sold stock brokerage firm Kestrel Capital to a company backed by its management team, making it the latest deal in Kenya’s stockbroking business amid a market upturn.

Charles Field-Marsham will cede ownership to Theo Capital Holdings – which is owned by eight individuals including Kestrel CEO Francis Mwangi – for an undisclosed amount.

Mombasa County to pay KBL Sh1.9m in land lease dispute

In a land dispute that lasted almost 30 years, Kenya Breweries Ltd (KBL) has been granted a reprieve against the Mombasa County Government after a court declared the company’s certificate of lease on the land is valid and still in force.

The Environment and Land Court also ruled that the re-planning and subdivision of KBL’s land in Tudor, conducted by the county government to create other parcels, was illegal, null and void.

Shift to cooking gas widens as households tap cheaper supplies

More households in Kenya are increasingly using cooking gas, buoyed by the lower cost of the fuel following recent tax incentives by the government.

Data from the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) shows that the uptake of cooking gas in Kenyan homes rose by 14.1 percent to 443,932.46 tonnes in the year ended June 2025 from 388,970 tonnes posted in the previous year.

Finance baby steps: When to add a child to your debit card

Should you add your child to your debit card? As more Kenyan children travel abroad for school trips or shopping, a new parenting trend is taking root, giving them access to debit cards.

For some parents, it is about teaching financial responsibility and ensuring safety while abroad. For others, it raises tough questions about the risks of early exposure to money management. But how young is too young to have a debit card, and what should parents know before adding their child as a secondary cardholder?