The other day Tony Blair was in town....

[quote=hisah]I hope the incoming governor will not be from IMF or WB school pool lest the country ends up trapped with bretton woods debt baggage, which will squeeze the economy.

http://www.businessdaily...6/-/fwijl9/-/index.html[/quote]

Good point World Bank, IMF are a colonial relic. They will screw developing countries over. Even their Western staff in Kenya earn much more than local staff doing the same job. They explain it in all kinds of twisted ways but it's a legacy of colonization. At the back of their minds, they're thinking these guys are not so smart.

Kenya needs a visionary leader who can work with a free hand confidently and able to engage Asia strongly. Establishing a regional clearing house for the Yuan/Rupee for example would be a great move forward.

The CBK governor should ideally be someone who is not intimidated by IMF/World Bank types. Someone whose credentials also intimidate those guys. Luckily it seems we have a pretty good crop of potentials who should be able to stand their ground.

Effect already felt in Nigeria with Africa's Richest Man loosing half of his fortune due to currency depreciation in Nigeria, The 57-year-old billionaire reportedly lost $10.3 billion in the last one year. Dangote was worth $25 billion in 2014. However, he lost more than the half of his fortune and is worth much less at the moment. The owner of the “Dangote Group” suffered heavy loss due to a reduced demand for cement and the depreciation of the Naira. The Nigerian Naira is at 200 to the dollar.
Dangote is the biggest loser among the richest people in Nigeria due to the depreciation in the Nigerian Naira. His stock prices fell and he lost more than $7.8 billion of his fortune since February. Dangote was worth $21.6 billion on Nov. 7, 2014. However, he lost $4.4 billion more in the next four months.
Many companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange suffered disastrous outcomes in the last few weeks. Several companies like Dangote Cement, Transcorp, Zenith Bank and United Bank for Africa hit one-year-lows as oil prices fell.
Africa's largest manufacturer of cement, Dangote Cement, shed nearly 40 per cent of its market value since November. Dangote also lost more than $230 million in paper value on his stakes in publicly-traded Dangote Flour, Dangote Sugar and National Salt Company of Nigeria.
http://au.ibtimes.com/af...ciation-nigeria-1428409

@ Obi 1 Kanobi, oil price is a major contributor and key players in the industry (large oil companies) other than governments, are gaining support from an unlikely source as they confront the industry’s worst slump since the financial crisis ie lower oil prices.
They have sway in commodities trading, largely unknown outside the industry and set to pay off in 2015 as the bear market allows traders to generate higher returns by storing cheap oil today to sell at higher prices later and using lower prices to make more bets with the same capital.
From dealing floors that resemble the operations of Wall Street banks in cities including Geneva, London, Houston, Chicago and Singapore, oil trading could provide BP, Shell and Total with an edge over U.S. rivals Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., which sell their own production, but largely eschew pure trading as a means of generating profits.
“We’re in a very strong commodity trading position,” Shell CFO Simon Henry said in a call with analysts on a Jan. 29. “Our ability to take advantage of volatility is some protection to mitigate the low price environment.”
The companies also make significant bets in the derivatives commodities markets. Such is the scale of BP and Shell in the financial market that both are registered swap dealers in the U.S. under the Dodd-Frank act. Together with agricultural trader Cargill Inc., they’re the only non-financial firms among nearly 50 banks, insurers, brokers and others registered as swap dealers.
http://finance.yahoo.com...ng-slump-084926157.html

Mobile banking offers the best tool to drive national savings for growth [JOSHUA OIGARA] www.standardmedia.co.ke/...kenya-s-national-savings

Banks defy CBK, load profit margins on cost of loans

The struggle continues. The new CBK head had better be pro bankers or banking stocks land in the sellside bucket...

Indeed a solid CBK head is required to tame the bankers as well as consolidation of the banks to tame consumerism lending and grow industrial lending.

http://mobile.nation.co....ml/-/gdgqh8/-/index.html

The list of CBK nominees is worrying, the career civil servants shortlisted are not right for the job. I hope Uhunye having interest in the anking sector is well versed on its needs and atleast his personal interest will ensure the new man/woman at the helm is atleast as competent as Njuguna Ndung'u was.

M-Pesa customers get access to seven African countries





http://www.businessdaily...4/-/ur4epu/-/index.html

very interesting assertion...help a brother out @Mainat. What specific assets?? Land perhaps? KPLC shares etc