Tag: COVID-19 pandemic

Kenya Airways seeks US$501m bailout to weather Covid-19 pandemic

Frank

KENYA – National carrier Kenya Airways (KQ) says it will need at least US$500 million in bailouts to stay afloat in the next nine months as it navigates the turbulent aviation sector following collapse in air travel demand amid Covid-19 economic fallout. The airline’s chief executive officer Allan Kilavuka, said that the money will be used on operations including staff remuneration, maintenance of aircraft and settling water, security, and electricity bills. Without the government bailout, Mr Kilavuka warned the airline risks running out of money in the near future as…

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Standard Bank bags global award for SME Covid-19 crisis relief effort

Frank

SOUTH AFRICA – Standard Bank has been recognised as among the top banks globally in its efforts to support and provide relief to its small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) clients since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was the only financial services organisation in South Africa to be invited to participate as a nominee in the “SME Bank of the Year” category at the SME Banking Awards, and the bank received a Silver award. This award category recognises top institutions that demonstrated compassion and provided crucial support to SME…

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IMF loans Kenya US$2.4b for budget support to weather Covid-19 hardships

Frank

KENYA – The government of Kenya is set to receive a US$2.4 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for budget support to weather the Covid-19 pandemic economic hardships. International Monetary Fund (IMF) said this week that the two have inked the deal for the 38-month credit facility whose disbursement will start in the coming weeks. Kenya had sought the loan from IMF in December 2020, making it the second following the US$739 million received in May, that Kenya applied to help it respond to the economic shocks caused…

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Kenya Airways to receive US$91.4m bailout from the government

Frank

KENYA – National carrier Kenya Airways (KQ), has received US$91.4 million from the Kenyan government as part of efforts to prop up the carrier after the Covid-19 pandemic grounded airlines globally. The airline, which is 48.9% owned by the government with Air France-KLM holding a small stake, secured US$71.3 million from Kenya’s National Treasury and US$18.3 million from the ministry of transport, Business Daily newspaper reported, citing a supplementary budget presented to parliament for approval. Kenya Airways has not commented on the report, which did not say when the airline…

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South Africa’s Acsa sells stake in Mumbai Airport to Adani Group for US$87.6m

Frank

SOUTH AFRICA – Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) has disposed of its 10 percent stake in India-based Mumbai International Airport Private Limited (Mial) for US$87.6 million, the government-owned company said in a statement. Mial was one of two international airport investments that were owned by Acsa with the other in Brazil, through the Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo. The India-based Adani Group acquired the stake, as well as a 13.5 percent stake in Mial that was owned by Bidvest’s Bid Services Division, according IOL Acsa made a US$80.8 million…

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Kenya gets US$18m for green trade and Covid-19 war from Denmark

Frank

KENYA – The government of Kenya has received US$18 million support from Denmark to help promote East Africa regional trade and combat Covid-19 pandemic. The funding will be channelled through TradeMark East Africa (TMEA), which works with governments in the region to reduce trade barriers through automation and setting up of the required infrastructure such as One Stop Border Posts (OSBPs). The Danish funding comes in two financial agreements with US$15 million funding Kenya’s efforts to transition to Green Trade and creating sustainable jobs under the Denmark and Kenya Strategic…

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Kenya in first recession since 2000 as Covid-19 ravages the economy

Frank

KENYA – Kenya slid into a recession for the first time in two decades in the third quarter of 2020 as measures introduced by the East African nation to slow the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic continued to hurt output. Gross domestic product in East Africa’s biggest economy fell 1.1% compared with a year earlier, after shrinking a revised 5.5% in the second quarter, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics told Money Web. The outcome matched median of three economists’ estimates in a Bloomberg survey. Before the decline in the…

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Clicks Group to close Musica retail stores after 29 years as Covid-19 hits hard

Frank

SOUTH AFRICA – Clicks Group has closed its Musica entertainment business due to the shift to digital consumption of music, movies, and games, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Acquired by the pharmacy group in 1992, Musica has been South Africa’s leading music and entertainment retail brand for several decades. For several years “Musica has been operating in a declining market, owing to the structural shift globally to the digital consumption of music, movies and games from the traditional physical format,” Clicks said. “Shareholders are advised that the board of directors…

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Kenya’s diaspora remittances hit US$3.1b despite Covid-19 pandemic

Frank

KENYA – Kenyans in diaspora sent home more than US$3.1 billion last year, according to Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data, a significant increase from the US$2.8 billion recorded in 2019. The month of December last year saw the highest remittance from the diaspora of US$25.9 million, largely attributed to supporting festivities and preparations for re-opening of schools. “This remarkable growth of remittances has been supported by financial innovations that provided Kenyans in the diaspora more convenient channels for their transactions,” read a statement from CBK. It is only in…

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Development Bank of Namibia and Germany’s KfW sign agreement to finance SMEs

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NAMIBIA – The Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) and the Development Bank of Germany (KfW) have signed a loan agreement in which KfW will provide refinancing for DBN’s non-agricultural small business loan scheme. The loan scheme aims to form an integral part of Namibia’s Ministry of Finance’s “Economic Stimulus and Relief Package to Mitigate the Impact of COVID-19″. The interest-reduced loan amounts to approximately US$30.81million and DBN will provide the actual loans to non-agricultural SMEs that have experienced significant losses of income as a result of the COVID–19 pandemic.  The relief measure is aimed at supporting…

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