Kenya plans Uchumi exit in uganda after retailer’s recovery

-
Kenyan government is set to let go of its shareholding in Uchumi Supermarkets once the troubled retailer stabilises under the ongoing bailout and restructuring plan.

Kenya’s Trade Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo on Wednesday said the shareholding exit will come after the government recoups taxpayers’ funds pumped into the company over the years.
Uchumi is in talks with a strategic partner to pump in fresh capital after years of struggle supported by Treasury bailouts and debt restructuring.

“We are not planning to stay for so long as shareholders of Uchumi, so once it stabilises then we will move on to something else and let it grow on its own.

Our focus is simply to see the retailer back in full operations and that all stakeholders are taken care of,” Mr Kiptoo said in an interview.

The Kenyan government owns a 14.67 per cent stake in the loss-making Uchumi and is the second-biggest shareholder behind tier III lender Jamii Bora, which controls 14.90 per cent of the retail chain.

Last year, Uchumi survived a winding up suit and is currently banking on a KSh1.8 billion ($17.3 million)Treasury bailout package, of which only KSh500m ($4.8m) has been released so far.

The targeted strategic investor is expected to pump in KSh3.5b ($33.7m) to help Uchumi better restock its shelves and meet supplier debts and loans to lenders.

“We are not adding our shareholding and we are very keen on due diligence before we disburse funds to Uchumi so that it does not get drowned again. We have a team carrying out compliance checks to assure us when we can release the next KSh1.3b ($12.5m),” said Mr Kiptoo.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Aquashield Oil and Marine Services protects Nigeria’s waters against criminal activity

-
Image
Offshore industries in Nigeria are afflicted by the ever-present risk of piracy, sea robbery, militancy and kidnapping. With the threat level showing little sign of abating, security companies are gearing up to provide crucial protection services. The ongoing crisis scenario that plagues Nigeria’s territorial waters has prompted a dramatic transformation of the offshore security industry in the region. The industry was previously focused on unregulated fishing and other low-level issues, but has now evolved to tackle combative security threats such as illegal bunkering, the vandalism of oil and gas installations, piracy, sea robbery, militancy and kidnapping. Behind this shift is a destructive bout of youth restlessness in the Niger Delta region. The predicament has dealt a serious blow to the oil and gas industry, leading to reduced revenues for international companies that operate in the region. Similarly, its effects have also been damaging to the insurance companies that cov...
Read more

Kenya Airways gets US Govt. nod for direct flights

-
United States President Donald Trump has approved Kenya Airways application for direct flights from Nairobi to the US. According to an order released yesterday by the US Department of Transportation, neither Trump, nor his representative, rejected the application by the national carrier for the direct flights. Interested parties had been given 21 days to file objections to the order. On the other hand, Trump had 60 days to disapprove the application but did not, hence the application became valid on September 5, 2017. Kenya Airways is now allowed to transport persons, property, and mail from any point or points behind Kenya, via any point or points in Kenya and any intermediate points, to any point or points in the United States and beyond, the order read in part. “We make final our findings and conclusions as stated in the order and award to Kenya Airways PLC the foreign air carrier permit with associated conditions attached to the order,” US director of international a...
Read more

Self-service car sharing comes to Morocco

-
Image
It’s the perfect match for modern day living: self-service cars, by the hour or day, accessible 24/7 and with parking, fuel and insurance costs included. This, a first for Morocco, is on offer in Casablanca from the startup Carmine. Now that self-service bikes have rolled into the country, cars are following suit and offer a much-wanted service in the economic capital, burdened with increasing, chaotic traffic. The firm was created in 2014, and tested the waters with a pilot project in July 2015. According to CEO and founder Mohamed Mrani Alaoui, this was, “A period during which we really reached maturity.” There was a lot to do: running trials on rates, defining parking spaces through a partnership with the city, personalising technology and getting to know client needs. “People thought the concept wouldn’t work in Morocco, to judge by the time it took us to go into commercial operation,” says Alaoui. “But that pilot period was about making the new service more...
Read more