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  • Kenya Ready For Debut Eurobond After 17-Year Wait

    Kenya Ready For Debut Eurobond After 17-Year Wait

    {{After 17 years, the timing is finally on Kenya’s side as the government readies its first Eurobond sale, betting the nation’s growth prospects and resurgent demand for emerging-market debt will keep borrowing costs contained.}}

    Investors may demand a yield of about 7 percent to buy the securities, less than the 7.48% yield on similarly rated Zambian bonds, according to Raza Agha at VTB Capital Plc in London. Aly-Khan Satchu at Rich Management Ltd. in Nairobi sees a range between 7.5% and 8%, depending on whether Kenya sells $2 billion or $1.5 billion.

    “We are still living through another six to nine months of an environment which is very, very beneficial for issuers given the high demand for emerging markets,” Yerlan Syzdykov, who helps oversee the equivalent of about $5.4 billion as head of emerging markets bond and high yield at Pioneer Investments, said in an interview in London yesterday.

    “A lot of countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, will use this as an opportunity to tap the market.”

    East Africa’s largest economic growth will probably accelerate to 6.3% this year, from 5.6% in 2013, driven partly by tea and cut flower exports, according to International Monetary Fund estimates.

    African dollar debt returned 8.3% this year, with the average yield dropping to a one-year low of 5.06% last week, JPMorgan Chase & Co. indexes show.

    Gains have been fueled by speculation central banks in Europe and the U.S. will keep monetary policy accommodative.

    {{Record Sales}}

    Kenya first considered selling Eurobonds in 1997, and would be following a record year for Africa in 2013. That included a first-time offering by Rwanda, and sales by Nigeria and Ghana.

    Zambia, which shares Kenya’s B1 rating at Moody’s Investors Service, sold $1 billion of Eurobonds priced to yield 8.6% in April. The rate was 7.51% yesterday, up from a record low of 7.35% two days earlier.

    “Kenya is a stronger credit, so it should price inside Zambia,” Agha, VTB Capital’s chief economist for the Middle East and Africa, said yesterday. “I expect there to be good demand for the issue.”

    Barclays Plc, JPMorgan, Standard Bank Group Ltd. and QNB Capital were picked to organize investor meetings in the U.S. and Europe from today until June 15, a person familiar with the deal said yesterday.

    A benchmark dollar bond may follow, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized to comment.

  • EAC Gets $124M Budget for 2014/15

    EAC Gets $124M Budget for 2014/15

    {{The East African Council of Ministers has presented the region’s budget estimates for the 2014/2015 financial year of Sh10.8 billion ($124,069,695).}}

    The budget prioritises the full implementation of the EAC Common Market Protocol with particular focus on free movement of goods, services, labour and capital as well as the implementation of the EAC Industrialisation Policy.

    The budget estimates were presented before the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) by Tanzania Deputy EAC Minister Abdallah Sadala Abdallah on behalf of the EAC Council of Ministers chair Phyllis Kandie.

    “Further amendments of the national laws to conform to the Common Market Protocol are envisaged for the next Financial Year.

    The Council of Ministers intends to introduce a Bill to the EALA to deal with challenges been witnessed with regards to implementation of the Protocol,” Sadala mentioned.

    Other key areas include development of cross-border infrastructure with particular focus on implementing decisions of the Summit Retreat and the sensitisation of East Africans towards deepened East Africa integration.

    “The EAC Common Market Scorecard 2014 launched in February should be able to assist Partner States to identify areas of slow or limited progress and foster stronger peer learning to accelerate its implementation,” the minister said.

    The East African Community Secretariat has been allocated Sh6.6 billion, East African Legislative Assembly Sh1.3 billion, while the East African Court of Justice has been given a share of Sh401 million.

    The Inter-University Council for East Africa shall receive Sh823 million, Lake Victoria Basin Commission Sh1.2 billion while Sh246 million is earmarked for the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation.

    For the first time, three new institutions are also set to benefit. East African Science and Technology Commission shall receive Sh59 million, East African Kiswahili Commission Sh63.2 million and the East African Health Research Commission Sh80.9 million.

    The highest financiers of the budget will be Ministries of EAC from the five Partner State including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi which are expected to give a contribution of Sh3.6b illion. Others include the development partners.

    The regional budget has now dropped for the second time in a row from Sh11.8 billion in 2012/2013 financial year, Sh11 billion in 2013/2014 and finally to Sh10.8 billion.

    The estimates will now await approval by EALA.

  • 200 Elephant Tusks Seized in Mombasa

    200 Elephant Tusks Seized in Mombasa

    {{A consignment of ivory worth millions of shillings has been impounded by police in Mombasa.}}

    The elephant tusks said to number more than 200, were seized at a yard in Tudor estate early on Thursday morning.

    Mombasa police boss Geofrey Mayek stated that they had arrested a Kenyan following discovery of the tusks.

    “It is suspected that the tusks were hacked from at least 114 elephants from Tsavo National Park and other neighbouring parks in the region,” an official from the Kenya Wildlife Service stated.

    The government overhauled national wildlife legislation by approving the Wildlife Bill in one of the swiftest responses to the recent reports of escalating poaching of elephants and rhinos.

    The legislation was operationalised early this year and attracts the world’s most severe penalties.

    Offences against all endangered species including elephants and rhinos, or their products now attracts a fine of Sh20 million or life imprisonment

    Kenya has been identified as one of the leading transit routes for smuggling ivory out of Africa, with several incidents of ivory seizures and recovery of wildlife carcasses in recent days.

    The poaching menace has brought renewed attention to a crisis that has persisted for decades with the steady decline of Africa’s wildlife due to growing human populations and poverty that has put agricultural communities at odds with wildlife for resources.

    Conflict between land for wildlife and land for farmers and pastoralists in Kenya has also reached crisis level with rampant killing of lions and elephants among other types of wildlife.

    capitalfm

  • Ebola death toll hits 208 in Guinea

    Ebola death toll hits 208 in Guinea

    {{Some 208 people have now died from the Ebola virus in Guinea after a deadly spike in recent days, world health officials say.

    At least 21 people died and 37 new cases of suspected Ebola were found between 29 May and 1 June, bringing the total number of cases in the West African country to 328.

    Of these, 193 have been confirmed by laboratory tests.

    There is no cure or vaccine for Ebola – one of the world’s deadliest viruses.}}

    More than half of the new deaths were in the southern Guekedou region, where the outbreak is centred.

    Three confirmed and 10 suspected new cases were recorded in neighbouring Sierra Leone over the same period.

    Six people are believed to have died there, as well as 10 in Liberia.

    Medical charities say one reason for the increase is that some people are refusing to go to hospital for treatment, preferring to seek help from traditional healers.

    Ebola, a haemorrhagic fever, can kill up to 90% of those infected and is passed on through contact with the fluids of infected people or animals, such as urine, sweat and blood.

    But people have a better chance of surviving if it is identified early and they receive medical attention.

    Experts from the World Health Organisation and the Doctors Without Borders charity are in the region, and about 600 people are under observation after having possible contact with Ebola.

    wirestory

  • G7 Warns Russia of Fresh Sanctions

    G7 Warns Russia of Fresh Sanctions

    Leaders of the G7 industrial nations meeting in Brussels say they are prepared to impose further sanctions on Russia over its actions in Ukraine.

    A joint statement condemned Moscow for its “continuing violation” of Ukraine’s sovereignty.

    The G7 summit is the first since Russia was expelled from the group following its annexation of Crimea in March.

    On Thursday, leaders are discussing the global economic outlook, climate change and development issues.

    Although Russian President Vladimir Putin is not at the Brussels summit, he will hold face-to-face talks with some G7 leaders – not including US President Barack Obama – in Paris afterwards.

    However, both Mr Putin and Mr Obama will attend a ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings in France on Friday.

    While in Poland on Wednesday, President Obama warned Moscow against what he called its “dark tactics” in Ukraine.

    Diplomacy has intensified to try to resolve the biggest crisis in years between Russia and the West, says the BBC’s Chris Morris in Brussels.

    BBC

  • Christian Writers to Gather at First Baptist Church

    Christian Writers to Gather at First Baptist Church

    {{A weekend conference in Tuscaloosa will offer experienced and novice writers the chance to hone their skills and learn ways to get their work published, organizers say.}}

    The 23rd annual Southern Christian Writers Conference will be held Friday and Saturday in the educational center at First Baptist Church, 721 Greensboro Ave., in downtown Tuscaloosa.

    Organizers say all types of writers, secular or spiritual, are welcome to attend.

    “We wanted to help writers become more professional also and get works published whether it was in Christian magazines or in secular books,” said Joanne Sloan, who founded the Southern Christian Writers Conference with her husband, David.

    Joanne Sloan is a freelance writer who has written for a variety of Christian and secular magazines, while David Sloan is a retired journalism teacher and published book writer.

    The conference is very practical, Joanne Sloan said. There will be workshops where writers will have one-on-one interaction with literary agents, she said. Guest speakers will discuss various topics, such as how writers can use social media effectively.

    “One keynote speaker this year is a New York best-selling author from North Carolina, Patricia Hickman,” Sloan said. “She will be doing a keynote on how to connect with your readers and a workshop on how to develop characters.”

    tuscaloosanews

  • Burundi Ready to Boost Central Africa Contingent

    Burundi Ready to Boost Central Africa Contingent

    {{Burundi is ready to send hundreds more troops to Central African Republic, where international forces are trying to put an end to sectarian violence, President Pierre Nkurunziza told media.}}

    “We have been asked by the African Union and the United Nations to raise the number of our troops in the CAR,” President Nkurunziza said during a visit to Paris.

    “We are ready to deploy 450 troops and have prepared two police units of a total of 280 officers.”

    Burundi is looking for necessary equipment and support from its partners to see the mission through, he added.

    Burundi currently has 850 men in the 6,000-strong African peacekeeping force known by the acronym MISCA, which is trying to contain the crisis along with about 2,000 French troops.

    MISCA will be gradually replaced by a 12,000-strong UN peacekeeping force from September.

    Sectarian violence between Christians and Muslims in the former French colony has left tens of thousands dead and displaced around a quarter of the country’s 4.6 million people.

    The chronically unstable Central African Republic sank into chaos after minority Muslim fighters from the Seleka former rebel group seized power in March 2013 after helping to topple president Francois Bozize, but then refused to lay down their arms and went rogue.

    Their campaign of killing, raping and looting prompted members of the Christian majority to form vigilante groups that fought back.

    wirestory

  • US Military Jet Crashes into Homes

    US Military Jet Crashes into Homes

    A US military jet has crashed into homes in the California desert, about 90 miles (144km) east of San Diego.

    Television footage showed at least one home on fire on a residential street in the city of Imperial, following the crash on Wednesday evening.

    The pilot of the AV-8B Harrier jet ejected safely, and has been taken to hospital with minor injuries.

    The US Marine Corps said eight homes had been evacuated but no-one on the ground was hurt.

    An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the crash, it said in a statement..

    Resident Adriana Ramos, 45, said her house shook when the plane crashed.

    “It felt like a bomb was thrown in the backyard,” she said.

    Scene ‘chaotic’
    Another witness, Jose Santos, said he was driving nearby when he saw the plane flying “really low”.

    “It just fell down,” he said.

    wirestory

  • Kenyan County to Mine Diatomite With Chinese Firm

    Kenyan County to Mine Diatomite With Chinese Firm

    {{Kenya’s Baringo County has signed a US$71mn deal with Chinese firm Chuansian International Company to mine 200,000 tonnes of diatomite annually.}}

    Located in the Rift Valley region, Baringo County is rich in ruby, iron ore, gold, manganese and flourspar — with many of these natural resources lying unexploited.

    Benjamin Cheboi, county governor, said, “Over 300 jobs will created by the deal with further growth expected in local economic activities. We will offer an enabling environment to attract local, inter-county and international investors. We are liaising with the central government to ensure security for the investors.”

    Li Song, director with Chuansian International, noted that local residents will benefit from the project through social amenities such as boreholes, schools and hospitals. He added that China would a major market for the diatomite which is used for filtration and in aviation.

    Five processing plants will be constructed in the next three years.

    Recently, the county also signed a US$7bn deal with Cummins Cogeneration Kenya Limited for the generation of power through biomass obtained from Prosopis weed- endemic in the region. The project seeks to generate over 10,000MW of clean energy by year 2020.

  • World Bank Approves US$55.2M for Niger Basin Project

    World Bank Approves US$55.2M for Niger Basin Project

    {{ The World Bank have approved funds worth US$55.2mn from the International Development Association (IDA) to support the Kandadji Project in Niger}}

    The Kandadji Project is a phase of the Niger Basin Water Resources Development and Sustainable Ecosystems Management Program. This programme is designed to improve regional development, sustainability and cooperation of water resources on the Niger Basin, stated World Bank authorities.

    Reports added that frequent flooding and droughts have threated food security in this impoverished region. The project would include the Kandadji Dam, hydropower plant and transmission line.

    It will also support community-based local development activities for resettled citizens, long-term development of facilities to supply irrigation water to 450mn square metres in Niger Valley and measures to establish an agri-business growth pole for increasing incomes and trade.

    Jamal Saghir, director of the World Bank for sustainable development, said, “The Kandadji Project will deliver clean, low-cost hydropower and optimise development impact for Niger and the entire Niger River Basin.

    The project’s focus on securing a new source of renewable electricity will boost access to social services, improve health and education, and help establish new economic opportunities needed to end poverty and boost shared prosperity in Niger and beyond.”

    World Bank added that the IDA has increased its financing from US$203mn to US$258mn.

    Paul Noumba Um, country director of World Bank, Niger, said, “Today’s additional financing demonstrates a strong commitment by the World Bank to the Kandadji Project.

    It has the potential to transform the Niger River Basin in West Africa by boosting agricultural development for food security, improving rural incomes and expanding energy supply throughout the region.”

    The African Caucus and Kinshasa II Declaration, issued in August 2012, called for African nations to focus on integrated regional projects and strengthening ways to tap into renewable energy, and this project is in line with these priorities, World Bank said.

    africanreview