Category: Business Daily

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) is seeking to oversee transfer of business between subsidiaries in a banking group in a bid to protect investors and depositors.

The regulator, in new draft prudential guidelines, has proposed rules to guide hive-down transactions, which refers to the process where a bank transfers a business unit, assets, liabilities or a specific operation to a newly created or existing subsidiary.

CBK will need details of the proposed transfer of banking business as a going concern, asset and liability transfer schedules, customer migration and continuity plan, group structure chart before and after restructuring, details of any proposed non-operating holding company (NOHC); and transitional services arrangements between group entities.

Some of the recent transactions that could have prompted such a detailed review from the regulator –if the proposed rules were already in force–include restructuring of Co-operative Bank of Kenya into a non-holding company.

Others were KCB Group’s absorption of its mortgage lending business which was previously conducted through a subsidiary that traded as Savings and Loan (S and L).

KCB also recently retained some assets and liabilities of National Bank of Kenya (NBK) which it sold to Nigeria’s Access Bank.

Hive-down transactions have been used by banks in developed economies for various purposes including to separate high-risk investment operations from day-to-day retail activities, as well as for managing divestments and distressed assets.

This means if not regulated, a bank can move around its assets and liabilities to the detriment of creditors such as depositors and financiers.

The regulations require a bank operating as a group to seek the regulators nod before conducting the internal restructuring as it alters the company’s legal structure, risk profile and balance sheet.

‘The Central Bank shall treat a hive-down as a combination of transfer of business and liabilities; and establishment or reorganization of a licensed institution requiring prior approval,’ said CBK in the new guidelines.

Besides hiving down to protect its assets, a bank can also transfer some of its business as it prepares for sale of specific divisions.

‘A hive down does not constitute the creation of a ‘new bank’ in substance where the business continues uninterrupted. It constitutes a material restructuring of a licensed institution and requires approval by the Central Bank,’ read the guidelines.

In its assessment the regulator will consider the protection of depositors, financial condition of the resulting institution; continuity of critical banking services and systemic risk implications.

Co-op Bank in its annual general meeting held in May this year created a new bank to carry over the Kenyan banking business.

‘The reorganization proposed structure is as hereunder; the transfer of the company’s banking business, including certain assets, liabilities, rights and obligations, to the NewBank as a going concern,’ read Co-op Bank’s circular to shareholders.

The bank sought approvals from CBK, citing guidelines on ownership disclosures by banks and the Capital Markets Authority.

In the sale of NBK to Access Bank late last year, KCB had retained assets worth Sh2.02 billion from its former subsidiary.

The Nigerian lender already had a banking business in the Kenyan market which it intends to merge with NBK to create a larger institution.

Several Kenyan banks operate in a group structure creating a window for them to move business across subsidiaries which will now require CBK’s approval.

Some of the institutions with group operations include KCB, Equity Group, I and M Group and NCBA Group.

There are also some small lenders who operate as groups with most of them having subsidiaries in bancassurance.

Edward Kinyua has taken over as the new Director-General of the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra), headlining a list of three key appointments in the country’s energy sector.

Mr Kinyua takes over from Daniel Kiptoo, was resigned from the position in April this year in the wake of a controversial importation of an emergency cargo of petrol outside the Government-to-Government (G-to-G) deal.

Besides Mr Kinyua, Stephen Busieney has been confirmed as the Managing Director and CEO of Geothermal Development Company (GDC) while Tom Imbo takes over in the same position at the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco).

The three senior-most positions at Epra, GDC and Ketraco fell vacant due to resignation, sacking and a government decision not to renew the term of one of the CEOs.

Mr Busieney has been acting since November 2025 having replaced Paul Ngugi who exited after the State opted not to renew his term for a final three years, while Mr Imbo replaces John Mativo who was sacked in the same month.

‘The appointments, which are to take effect immediately, are a culmination of rigorous recruitment processes undertaken in accordance with the applicable laws and relevant human resource guidelines by the respective Boards of Directors of Ketraco, GDC and Epra,’ Energy and Petroleum CS Opiyo Wandayi said on Wednesday when he confirmed the appointments.

The three will serve for an initial three-year term, renewable once subject to performance and other parameters set by the respective boards of directors.

They are tasked with overseeing a number of key projects and regulatory changes in the energy sector that the State is betting on to further open up the space and bolster electricity generation and transmission.

For example, Ketraco is set to deliver Kenya’s first Public Private Partnership-funded power transmission lines, while the GDC is tasked with ramping up production of geothermal power at Menengai and the Bogoria-Silale areas.

Epra is also undertaking major regulatory changes to open up Kenya’s electricity distribution space to more firms besides sanctioning the onboarding of new power plants to the national grid.

Prior to this appointment, Mr Kinyua had been the Director of Petroleum and Gas at Epra, while Mr Busieney was the General Manager, Finance and Investment at GDC before he took over from Mr Ngugi in an acting capacity.

Mr Imbo was the acting General Manager for Finance at Ketraco prior to his latest appointment to replace Mr Mativo who was sacked amid allegations of flawed procurement and a fall-out with the board.

Mr Kiptoo, the former Managing Director of Epra, resigned in April this year and was then arrested over an emergency cargo of petrol that was imported in March this year outside the G-to-G deal.

The latest appointments have left only Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) and National Oil Corporation of Kenya (Nock) as public firms in the energy sector that do not have substantive CEOs.

Joe Sang, KPC’s former chief executive, resigned alongside Mr Kiptoo while the CEO position at Nock fell vacant following the end of the allowable six-year term for Leparan Morintat.

Japanese beverage maker Asahi Group Holdings has said it will ride on newly introduced international premium beer brands to grow its business in the East Africa region, after completing its majority investment in East African Breweries Plc (EABL).

Asahi Group President and Chief Executive Atsushi Katsuki told the company’s shareholders that the multinational will introduce its Asahi Super Dry and Peroni Nastro Azzurro lagers into the Kenyan market to complement EABL’s White Cap and Guinness Stout in the premium segment of the beer market.

The Japanese firm’s emphasis on premium beers will mark a shift in strategy from EABL’s current majority owner Diageo Plc -the world’s largest spirits group- under which the listed brewer has increasingly leaned on spirits such as Johnnie Walker and Kenya Cane for growth in the local market.

In the year ending June 2026, EABL reported that its spirits segment recorded a 30 percent growth in net sales value, higher than the growth of nine percent for each of mainstream and premium beers. The company’s top line sales grew 13.3 percent to Sh145.96 billion, and net profit by 49 percent to Sh18.23 billion.

Mr Katsuki disclosed that discussions held so far with EABL’s management have focused on expectations surrounding Asahi’s expertise in the beer sector, and how to inject it into EABL brands to advance the whole value chain, including manufacturing and marketing.

He noted that the beer market in East Africa is currently dominated by low-price and mainstream categories, but there is room for growth in premium brands on the back of sustained economic growth and urbanisation.

‘Diageo Plc’s Guinness brand has established a solid market position in the premium category, but pilsners and other global mainstream premium lager brands have a limited presence. In my opinion, there is plenty of room for the Asahi Group to develop Asahi Super Dry and Peroni Nastro Azzurro premium lager and other brands in the region,’ said Mr Katsuki.

‘Indeed, we are eager to build a multi-layered product portfolio in East Africa by leveraging EABL’s robust distribution platforms and expanding Asahi Group brands in the region.’

Diageo and Asahi agreed the sale of the 65 percent stake in EABL held via an investment vehicle known as Diageo Kenya for a consideration of $2.354 billion (Sh305.5 billion) in December 2025.

Asahi also agreed to purchase Diageo’s 53.68 percent holding in spirits producer and importer UDV Kenya for $646 million (Sh83.8 billion), taking the total size of the deal to Sh389.3 billion.

Under the deal, EABL will retain Tusker and other local brands, while also signing agreements with Diageo to continue producing Guinness and some spirits, while importing and distributing others.

Diageo will also renew agreements with EABL to produce some of its spirits such as Smirnoff and Captain Morgan, and ready to drink brands such as Smirnoff Ice and Origin on licence terms. These will be complemented by the brands that Asahi will introduce into the market.

The Japanese company, which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, produces a diverse range of beer, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and food brands. Its business portfolio has revolved around Japan and East Asia, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region, with annual sales revenue of more than $19 billion (Sh2.46 trillion).

The company has however been eyeing an East African entry for the past decade, saying that demand for beer is anticipated to rise against a backdrop of population and economic expansion.

‘While the region is more politically and economically volatile than Japan or Europe, population growth, urbanisation, and economic expansion have supported higher medium-to long-term income growth, with beer demand expected to expand and premiumisation to evolve accordingly,’ said Mr Katsuki.

Asahi and Diageo anticipated closing the EABL sale transaction within the second half of this year, having obtained regulatory approvals from the East African markets in which they operate.

In Kenya, the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) granted a conditional approval on terms that the merged entity allows rival brands 20 percent of the space in the refrigerators it provides to retail outlets.

Further, the CAK directed the parties to set aside enough funds to cover future liabilities, which include potential awards in ongoing court cases against EABL.

However, Asahi and Diageo will wait longer to transfer the EABL shares after the High Court (in early September) extended a June 2026 freeze on the transfer of the EABL shares following an opposing petition on the sale.

The petition was filed by EABL shareholder Christine Irungu, who argued that minority owners were denied material information when Diageo increased its stake in the brewer from 50.03 percent to 65 percent in 2023 before pursuing the sale to Asahi.

She further argued that Diageo’s acquisition of the additional shares was presented as a long-term investment demonstrating its confidence in East Africa’s growth prospects, meaning that the subsequent decision to sell the enlarged stake would raise questions about whether investors received full disclosure of material information when the tender offer was undertaken.

On their part, Diageo Kenya and Diageo Plc have been seeking to have these orders set aside, arguing that the issues raised by the petitioner fall within specialised statutory frameworks governing takeovers, mergers and competition regulation, and should therefore be handled by the relevant regulators and tribunals.

Kenya’s push to force foreign-run small businesses into the formal economy is exposing a wider burden faced by mid-sized operators, spanning licences, taxes, payroll deductions and immigration compliance.

For a foreigner operating a business in Kenya, the cost would begin with immigration compliance; a Class G permit for specific trade, business or consultancy requires proof of at least Sh100,000 in capital, with a Sh20,000 processing fee and a Sh250,000 annual issuance fee, although Eat African Community nationals are exempt from those fees.

A foreign employee working for a Kenyan business faces a separate Class D employment permit, which costs Sh20,000 to process and Sh500,000 annually when issued, while the employer must demonstrate that the position could not be filled from the local labour market.

That makes immigration compliance potentially one of the highest fixed regulatory costs for a foreign operator, particularly where the business is small enough that the annual permit fee competes directly with working capital.

The paperwork also requires businesses to maintain tax compliance certificates, company registration records, shareholder information and other documentation, meaning immigration compliance depends partly on the business already maintaining its wider formal records.

The next layer is business registration, where the formal cost itself is relatively modest but creates an administrative footprint that continues throughout the life of the enterprise.

The Business Registration Service (BRS) charges Sh950 to register a business name and Sh10,650 to incorporate a private limited company, with changes to company records, official searches and other filings attracting additional fees.

Registration, however, is only the entry point because an operating business must also obtain the relevant county permits and comply with sector-specific requirements depending on what it sells or produces.

In Nairobi, the Unified Business Permit combines multiple county licences and permits into one application, covering requirements such as trade licences and health certificates depending on the nature of the business. The consolidation reduces the number of separate county transactions but does not eliminate the underlying charges, inspections and renewals attached to running a compliant premise.

For a mid-level retailer, wholesaler, restaurant, workshop or service business, the premises themselves also become part of the compliance bill through rent, utilities, signage, health, fire and other requirements that informal operators can avoid or defer.

Tax compliance adds another recurring obligation as KRA increasingly links business activity to electronic records rather than relying solely on declarations made by taxpayers.

KRA says businesses must maintain proper records and comply with electronic invoicing requirements, while the 2026 Finance Act has strengthened the administration of electronic tax systems and allowed KRA to use available taxpayer information in pre-populated returns.

For qualifying businesses, turnover tax applies to annual gross turnover above Sh1 million and up to Sh25 million, although the applicable regime and tax treatment depend on the business structure and activities.

The compliance cost is, therefore, not limited to the tax eventually paid because businesses need systems capable of recording sales, purchases, invoices, expenses, payroll and other transactions that support their tax declarations.

This is where bookkeeping becomes a recurring cost for businesses that have grown beyond a proprietor keeping handwritten records but remain too small to employ a full finance department.

A business with employees must add payroll administration to the list, including Pay As You Earn (PAYE), National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and Social Health Authority (SHA) deductions, with errors potentially creating arrears, penalties and disputes with workers.

The NSSF contribution burden increased for a final stretch from February 2026, with employees and employers each contributing 6 percent of pensionable earnings, subject to a lower earnings limit of Sh9,000 and an upper limit of Sh108,000.

At the maximum contribution level, an employer now contributes Sh6,480 per employee each month to NSSF, matching the employee’s contribution and raising the combined monthly amount to Sh12,960.

SHA adds another payroll obligation, with the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) contribution set at 2.75 per cent of household income, subject to a minimum monthly contribution of Sh300 for households outside salaried employment.

For a business employing five, 10 or 20 workers, these obligations create a monthly administrative cycle involving payroll preparation, deductions, remittances, reconciliations and record retention alongside the actual wages paid.

Banking adds yet another cost layer since formal businesses increasingly need transaction records that match their tax filings, making separation between personal and business finances essential for operators seeking credit or dealing with government agencies.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has identified access to formal finance as a continuing challenge for MSMEs, with its 2024 survey examining the amounts, pricing, tenors and availability of bank credit to smaller businesses.

While formal records could help improve access to finance, maintaining them requires accounting systems, bank reconciliations and documented cash flows that impose costs before a business obtains any financing benefit.

A 2026 study by research firm Semantic Scholar on formalising informal trade estimates about 10.4 million MSMEs, of which roughly 8.5 million operate informally.

The study puts formal MSMEs at about 1.9 million, indicating that most businesses remain outside the formal structure even though they account for a large share of economic activity.

Kenya has introduced a new compliance requirement for imported goods that takes effect in September 2026. This measure, effected through the Finance Act, 2026, establishes a new Section 23B of the Tax Procedures Act (TPA) requiring importers to obtain and retain export documentation issued by the country’s competent authority from which the goods originate.

Under the new provisions, importers must keep an export declaration, export entry, export certificate or any equivalent document.

The export declaration must contain key details such as the names and addresses of both exporter and importer, a description of the goods including quality, value, tariff classification, countries of export and destination, and the reference number issued by the exporting country’s customs authority. The documents must be retained for five years and produced upon request by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).

The amendment grants KRA broader enforcement powers. Importers who fail to provide the required documentation risk having KRA reject claims relating to the importation, value, origin, cost or ownership of the goods. In such cases, the commissioner may assess tax liabilities based on available information and may impose any prescribed administrative penalties.

However, Section 23B of the TPA permits the commissioner to waive the requirement in cases where the customs authority in the exporting country does not issue export declarations. In addition, the change requires the Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury to issue regulations to implement the new provisions.

Separately, KRA has also introduced the Advance Cargo Declaration (ACD) Platform, a digital pre-arrival system for containerised cargo destined for Kenyan ports. Exporters and importers must obtain an ACD reference code from this portal to be used in the cargo clearing process.

To obtain the code, importers must upload the relevant export documents from the country of origin (namely the bill of lading, commercial invoice, freight invoice and export declaration) onto the ACD platform prior to the goods being loaded onto the vessel destined to Kenya.

The ACD reference code must be included on the bill of lading before the cargo is dispatched to Kenya.

The new framework is intended to strengthen tax compliance and curb revenue leakages by allowing KRA to compare import declarations with documentation issued by foreign authorities. It is expected to reduce common customs related risks including misdeclaration of goods, under-valuation and tariff misclassification.

Whilst the measures could improve revenue collection and customs transparency, the change increases the administrative burden for importers and is a potential source of commercial risk.

Failure to produce or retain the required export documentation could result in disallowed costs for corporate income tax claims relating to imported goods as well as additional tax assessments based on alternative sources of information used to calculate the taxable value of the goods.

As a result, businesses are encouraged to review their supply-chain documentation processes and engage with overseas suppliers to ensure compliant export records are available before shipments are dispatched.

The waiver for jurisdictions that do not issue export declarations is a practical safeguard.

However, importers should not assume that relief will apply automatically where the same is not obtained in the country of origin.

Forthcoming regulations from the Cabinet secretary will be important in clarifying operational matters, including acceptable document formats, cross- border verification procedures and any transitional arrangement.

The Finance Act, 2026 amendments on export documentation under the TPA also raises a potential drafting issue as it appears to remove the definition of ‘certificate of origin’ from Section 3 of the TPA while leaving Section 44A, which requires goods imported into Kenya to be accompanied by a valid certificate of origin, unchanged.

This may create overlapping or inconsistent obligations and may require further legislative clarification to avoid imposing multiple documentary requirements on importers.

In light of this, importers should now review and update their import-control procedures to ensure export declarations are requested and retained for at least five years. This will require them to engage with overseas suppliers to confirm that they will issue compliant export documentation and monitor the National Treasury’s regulations for implementation details and any transitional rules.

The measures signal a tougher compliance approach by KRA and reinforce the importance of robust documentation in cross-border trade. Importers and their advisers should act promptly to minimise the risk of shipment delays, penalties and unexpected tax liabilities.

For years, the conversation around smart buildings in Kenya has largely focused on convenience, security and the occupant experience. Automated lighting, intelligent HVAC systems, integrated controls and centralised building management were seen as features that made a building more sophisticated.

That conversation is changing.

As energy costs, sustainability commitments, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) expectations increasingly influence business decisions, the smart building is becoming something more fundamental: a tool for managing operational costs, measuring environmental performance and protecting the long-term value of an asset.

For Kenyan businesses, this shift is particularly relevant because energy remains a significant operating expense across commercial, industrial and institutional facilities. The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has continued to strengthen Kenya’s energy-efficiency framework, with the Energy (Energy Management) Regulations, 2025 introducing new requirements for designated facilities, including energy audits and implementation of conservation measures.

The implication is clear. Energy can no longer simply be treated as a bill that arrives at the end of the month. It is a cost that businesses can measure, analyse and actively manage.

Turning energy from a fixed cost into a controllable one

A building does not consume energy evenly throughout the day. Lighting, air conditioning, ventilation, lifts, pumps and other systems operate according to occupancy, weather, working hours and operational requirements.

Yet without the right technology, businesses often have limited visibility into where that energy is going.

Automated lighting can switch off or dim in areas that are unoccupied. HVAC systems can be scheduled according to actual operating hours rather than running continuously. Sensors can respond to occupancy and environmental conditions. Real-time monitoring can identify unusual consumption patterns before they become expensive problems.

The value is not simply automation for its own sake. It is control.

When building managers can see how much energy different systems or zones are consuming, they can identify inefficiencies, establish baselines and make informed decisions about where intervention will have the greatest financial impact.

For a business managing a large commercial facility, even incremental improvements across multiple systems can translate into meaningful savings over the life of the building.

ESG begins with data

There is another reason energy monitoring is becoming increasingly important: ESG reporting is becoming more data-driven.

Kenya’s capital markets have already moved towards structured ESG disclosure. The Capital Markets Authority and Nairobi Securities Exchange introduced ESG disclosure guidance for listed companies, reflecting growing investor demand for information that can inform capital allocation and risk assessment. The CMA has also said it is working with the IFC, NSE and listed issuers on an ESG Code for issuers, with expectations aligned to international sustainability reporting standards.

For companies, this creates a practical question: where does the data required for credible environmental reporting come from? Part of the answer is inside the building.

Energy consumption data provides an important foundation for understanding operational emissions and identifying opportunities to reduce them. But businesses cannot report confidently on what they cannot measure.

This is why the first step does not necessarily have to be a complex automation project. It can begin with metering, monitoring and establishing a reliable baseline.

You cannot manage what you do not measure.

Once the data exists, automation can be introduced strategically to address the areas where the greatest efficiencies can be achieved.

The building is becoming part of the investment conversation

The business case for smarter buildings also extends beyond monthly energy bills.

Developers, landlords and corporate occupiers are increasingly considering how buildings perform over their entire lifecycle. An inefficient building can carry higher operating costs, while a building designed around resource efficiency can offer greater predictability and potentially stronger long-term marketability.

International evidence points in this direction. IFC research has found that green buildings can have lower operating costs and can achieve higher asset values than comparable conventional buildings; one analysis cited average operating-cost reductions of 10-17% and asset values more than 9% higher for green buildings.

Certification systems such as IFC’s EDGE have also helped translate sustainability into measurable performance. EDGE certification requires projects to demonstrate projected reductions in energy, water and embodied energy compared with conventional buildings.

Kenya is already participating in this shift. IFC-backed developments in the country have adopted EDGE requirements, while local organisations and property developers are increasingly incorporating resource efficiency into their projects. In 2026, Kenya was also selected to participate in a World Green Building Council initiative aimed at developing national climate action roadmaps for the building sector.

For property owners, this creates an important distinction between building cheaply and building efficiently.

The cheapest building to construct is not necessarily the cheapest building to own and operate.

Kenya has an opportunity to close the smart-building gap

Globally, building technology is moving towards increasingly integrated systems in which energy, lighting, HVAC, security, access control, room management and other services can communicate and be managed through common platforms.

Kenya does not need to replicate every technology trend emerging in mature markets. But there is a significant opportunity to move from isolated systems towards integrated, measurable and responsive buildings.

This is where local system integrators have an important role to play.

The challenge is not simply installing sensors or connecting equipment. It is understanding how multiple systems interact, designing them around the building’s operational needs and ensuring that the resulting data can support actual business decisions.

For a country experiencing rapid urbanisation and continued investment in commercial, hospitality, healthcare, industrial and mixed-use developments, getting this right has implications far beyond individual buildings.

It means creating assets that are more efficient to operate, easier to monitor and better prepared for increasingly demanding sustainability expectations.

The ESG conversation is therefore also a technology conversation, and an operational one.

For Kenyan businesses, the question is no longer simply whether a building should be green or smart. It is how to make its performance measurable, how to turn that data into action, and how to ensure that the assets being built today remain efficient, competitive and valuable tomorrow.

Smart buildings start with technology, but their real value lies in what that technology makes possible: better decisions, lower operating costs and buildings that are ready for a more demanding sustainability landscape.

The Dangote Group has opened talks with Nigeria’s regulator to increase the shares offered in the ongoing Lagos refinery Initial Public offer (IPO) as the issuance faces high demand from both retail and institutional investors.

The IPO, which is Africa biggest ever, seeks to raise Sh207.5 billion and runs between September 14 and October 13 with sale of 4.1 billion ordinary shares, equivalent to just about 3.4 percent shareholding of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, says that the Group’s decision to approach the Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the green light follows high demand for the shares.

The IPO targeted both retail and institutional investors with the aim of having at least 10 million unique shareholders.

‘We will try and see how much we can actually accommodate and we will try as much as possible to accommodate more than what we have advertised and that is for sure,’ Aliko Dangote told the Business Daily.

‘We have taken this to the regulator. The demand from Kenya and Botswana alone can actually fill what we are looking for but the main interest is actually to get as many shareholders as possible.’

Whereas the Group has not disclosed how it intends to realise increased float of shares for the IPO, it could potentially entail dilution of some of the existing shareholders whereby they cede a portion of their stake to allow more to be made available for these seeking to own a stake of the refinery.

Dangote Oil Refining Company Ltd holds the lion’s share of the Refinery being listed, controlling a 65.8 percent stake followed by Dangote Industries Ltd, Nigerian National Petroleum Company and Greenview International Corporation which hold 14.9 percent, 6.8 percent and 6.5 percent stakes, respectively.

The deal is being marketed as a “people’s IPO” and would be Africa’s largest.

Strong demand has temporarily disrupted some financial technology platforms as investors rushed to buy into the refinery, which is widely viewed as a bet on Africa’s need for greater refining capacity.

Mr Dangote did not provide specific investor demand figures for the offer.

‘We will do something very creative to allow us to accommodate our African brothers and sisters in the IPO and then the larger population outside Africa,’ Mr Dangote said.

Kenyan investors have been given access to the IPO for as little as Sh49 via the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) under a new vehicle that awaits regulatory approval.

Investors will be able to buy shares valued at Sh49 a piece via global depository receipts (GDRs)-instruments that enable investors to hold shares in foreign companies without directly trading on the offshore markets and needing to open foreign brokerage accounts.

Of the amount to be raised through the IPO, Sh82.17 billion will be earmarked for development and expansion of supporting infrastructure and other offsite utilities while Sh67.09 billion will be allocated to expansion and enhancement of core refining process units.

Mr Dangote said that the purpose of the IPO is not fundamentally to raise financing to boost the refinery’s expansion but to open ownership to retail and institutional Africans seeking to own a stake in one of the continent’s largest firms.

‘The IPO we are doing is not really that we want to raise money. It is purely that we want to widen ownership of a home-grown enterprise to Africans who wish to be part of the story,’ Mr Dangote said.

Dangote Group further plans to list, on the NSE, the East African Refinery in Lamu whose groundbreaking took place on Wednesday.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has increased the minimum number of directors in banks and capped the tenure of their chairmen, boosting board independence.

In new draft prudential guidelines the regulator has recommended capping the tenure of a bank’s chairman at nine years while also requiring that they be independent non-executive directors.

Presently, there is no term limit for bank chairs and one only needs to a board member not serving from the executive team.

The requirement that chairmen must be independent directors implies that holders of the position should not have served as executives in the bank in the last five years, hold more than five percent stake and not associated with a significant shareholder.

CBK reckons a director gains vested interest in the bank after nine years, prompting the introduction of the cap.

‘To achieve appropriate checks and balances, the chair of the board must be an Independent Non-Executive Director,’ reads the draft guidelines ‘An independent non-executive director loses their independence after serving for longer than nine years,’ it adds.

Current long serving chairmen will however have a window to continue serving with the regulator recommending their terms start anew from next year when the regulations take effect, avoiding a major board shakeup.

Some of the industry’s long serving directors currently serving as chairs in banks include John Murugu of Cooperative Bank and Lazarus Muema of Family Bank, who are both in their ninth year at the helm.

Isaac Macharia has chaired Equity Group Holdings for six years having served earlier as chair of the bank’s Kenyan subsidiary since 2017.

The rule requiring chairs to be independent will shine the focus on serving chairmen believed to be associated with significant owners of the banks

Founders and significant shareholders of banks have previously enjoyed the privilege of appointing chair of the board.

James Ndegwa, whose family owns a significant stake in NCBA Group, serves as chairman of the top tier lender.

Prime Bank chair Rasik Kantaria is also the founder of the bank which is majority owned by his family.

CBK has also introduced a fresh layer of vetting for chairpersons of banks even on occasions when the regulator had earlier reviewed and approved their appointment as directors

‘The requirement to obtain Central Bank approval for the appointment of a Chairperson applies even when the proposed nominee is serving as a Non-Executive Director previously approved by the Central Bank,’ reads the guidelines.

CBK is responding to instances where banks, especially those associated with the government, have replaced their chair without notifying the regulator.

Banks will also need to increase the size of their board of directors after the regulator increased the minimum membership from five to seven directors.

‘Due to the special nature of deposit-taking institutions which gives them an added responsibility of safeguarding the interests of the depositors, the Central Bank requires all institutions licensed under the Banking Act, to have at least seven directors,’ reads the regulations set to take effect in January.

The requirement to have seven directors is set to push small banks to reconstitute their boards which will also have to include at least four non-executive directors.

‘The non-executive directors should not be less than three-fifths of the directors in order to enhance accountability in the decision-making process,’ states the guidelines.

CBK is leaning on new prudential guidelines to entrench new requirements on the industry including higher capital buffers to ensure stability and the reclassification of large players as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) whose supervision will be to higher standards than the rest of the industry.

Large lenders whose collapse or distress would cause disruption in the local economy and regional market, will be required to hold an additional buffer of between 0.5 to 2.5 percent of their loan book.

The regulator will look at the size of a lender, its interconnectedness with other institutions, complexity and substitutability (difficulty in being replaced in a specific service) – to determine if it will be classified as a domestic systemically important bank.

CBK has further guided banks whose Common Equity Tier 1 capital (CET), primarily made up of ordinary shares and retained earnings, less than 8.625 percent of its loan book (total risk weighted assets) will not issue any dividend even where it is compliant with the minimum requirement of 8 percent.

I went to the University of Nairobi for my undergraduate studies. The first time I came to the city, I was warned by my parents about the insecurity, the wild men, and the bad company that would introduce me to partying.

True to their word, I’ve had my phone stolen by an older woman who wanted to ‘call her son’, and my heart broken by a man I met in Nairobi. You do not want to hear how that happened.

Years later, I got a job, but there were three things I dreaded most: the location of the office, the teargas passively inhaled during protests, and the chaos in the CBD. The roads that are always under construction, the matatus that take the road markers as lane suggestions, and the insecurity have made “I cannot remember the last time I came to the CBD” a cool topic of discussion among the middle class.

While weekdays in the CBD buzz with activity, Sundays have been renamed TikTok days because of the seas of young people who have converted the streets into makeshift studios for photography and videography. The other group that has taken over is the city tour guides, who have made Sundays their city tourism days.

The City Market along Muindi Mbingu Street in Nairobi’s central business district. The market, established in the 1930s, is known for its butcheries, florists, fresh produce and curio stalls, and is recognised as a national monument.

Pool

I have always wondered what tourists are being told about the city, and whether this particular city tour would even be interesting for a Kenyan who is always in the CBD. One Sunday, I booked the tour on an app; it cost me about Sh3,100.

On the day of the city tour, I arrived outside the Carrefour outlet opposite City Hall at 1 pm, where different groups of tourists were waiting for their guides. A few minutes later, my guide, Kevin, arrived.

After introductions, he explained that I needed to be careful with my phone while taking photos, since some tourists on his tours had been robbed. He also mentioned that I was only the second Kenyan he had ever taken on the city tour. At that point, I wondered if I had made a mistake.

Instead of backing out, I asked him not to change anything about the tour, and to treat me like a normal tourist.

The trip started at the Freedom Fighters’ Monument, where I learnt that Swahili was originally written in Arabic characters before it changed to the Latin script we use today.

From there, we toured Rhodes House, which was later renamed Pan African House and gazetted as a national monument. It was later renamed Sanlam House and is located along Kenyatta Avenue.

A wife’s gift and 20 cents ice cream

Next, Kevin took me to Jamia Mosque and the Macmillan Library, where I learnt the library was a gift from Macmillan to his wife.

By this point, the Nairobi heat had gotten to me, so we stopped to look for something cold to drink. I remembered that there was an ice cream shop on Koinange Street that I had always seen in my campus days.

It was a Sunday, and there were people inside, which was an indicator of their popularity. Once inside, the walls were decorated with old newspaper articles and pictures of their prices from the ’50s. It is hard to believe that ice cream once cost 20 cents.

We then walked to the University of Nairobi and an area he called the “language centre,” named for the Goethe Institute and Alliance Française nearby.

From there, he asked if I wanted to go to Uhuru Park. On an ordinary day, I would have opted out, but the spirit of adventure was buzzing inside me, so I chose to venture into the unknown. Like many millennials, I got to reminisce about my childhood and the many photos I have, either riding the boats or posing next to monuments as iconic as the KICC.

The SNO Cream ice cream parlour on Monrovia Street in Nairobi. The long-established ice cream business is known for its retro-style parlour and soft-serve ice cream.

Pool

Uhuru Park accommodated everyone: children waiting their turn in the remote-controlled cars, couples on romantic walks, and tourists like me taking in the scenic views of the Nairobi skyline across the park.

By this point, I was tired, but I had saved the best for last, so there was no time to rest. We quickly passed by Holy Family Basilica, also part of the city tour, then headed to my final stop, the KICC.

Beauty above the chaos

The journey to the top is split into two parts: a lift ride, followed by a flight of stairs leading to the very top, where there’s also a helipad. Once at the top, the view of Nairobi’s CBD was breathtaking.

The city might be chaotic from the street level, but up there, all you see is beautiful skyscrapers, trees and the planes taking off and landing at JKIA.

After an afternoon spent walking around the CBD, this was the perfect ending to a day spent appreciating the streets, buildings, and history we walk past every single day.

Would you spend money for a guided tour around Nairobi’s CBD? For many, the answer would be a straightforward no.

Why pay when you can walk around the CBD for free? Why subject yourself to the chaos, the insecurity, the potential injuries from open manholes, and the bullying from matatus? I’d say: try the tour. It’s worth it for the beauty and history Nairobi carries in plain sight.

The public hearings on the Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill are giving our lawmakers an important opportunity to listen before making decisions that could affect thousands of people trying to move away from deadly cigarettes.

At the Campaign for Safer Alternatives (CASA), we support strong tobacco control. We support protecting young people from nicotine use and tougher enforcement against retailers who break the law.

But we are concerned that parts of this Bill could produce consequences that run directly against its public-health objectives.

Our greatest concern is the proposed restriction on flavours in vapes and nicotine pouches.

The argument behind such restrictions is understandable. Products should not be designed, packaged or marketed to attract children.

But protecting young people and helping adults quit smoking are not competing objectives. Kenya can and should do both.

CASA’s latest member survey offers an important warning.

Half of respondents said they use vapes or nicotine pouches to help them quit smoking. More than half (53 percent) said flavours help them stay off cigarettes entirely, while 43 percent said flavours help them reduce how much they smoke. Only 14 percent identified tobacco as their preferred flavour.

Most concerning is what respondents told us they would do if flavours were removed.

One in three (32 percent) said they would return to smoking. Another 18 percent said they would smoke more. And 33 percent said they would seek flavoured products through alternative sources.

This is vital feedback from precisely the consumers whose behaviour Parliament needs to understand – adults who are using alternatives to cigarettes or considering doing so.

International evidence raises similar concerns. Yale University research involving more than 17,000 adults found that people using flavoured vaping products were more than twice as likely to quit cigarettes than those using tobacco-flavoured products.

The Bill also threatens to fuel illicit trade. Prohibition does not automatically eliminate demand. It can simply change where consumers buy their products.

That means potentially pushing people towards suppliers operating outside age-verification rules, product standards and regulatory oversight.

This should concern lawmakers in a country already struggling with a rampant illicit economy. Illegal traders avoid licensing fees, product approvals and inspections while compliant businesses carry those costs.

CASA is not asking Parliament to leave nicotine products unregulated.

We support strict age limits, meaningful penalties for retailers who sell to minors, controls on marketing and packaging aimed at children and restrictions on clearly youth-oriented flavour categories.

But there is a major difference between targeted safeguards and a blanket approach that could make alternatives less attractive to adults while leaving cigarettes readily available.

That is why these hearings matter.

Parliament should listen carefully to consumers, health experts, retailers and other affected groups, and judge every proposal against one simple test: Will this Bill, in its current form help fewer Kenyans smoke cigarettes?

If regulation protects children while helping adults move away from smoking, it deserves support.

If it risks pushing people back to cigarettes or towards the illicit market, it deserves another look.

The public hearings offers Kenya the chance to ensure it gets this right.