Kenyan shilling little changed vs dollar, trade slow

(Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling waslittle changed against the dollar in quiet trade on Monday and dealers expect the local currency to appreciate slightly in the week aided by good flows.

At 0730 GMT commercial banks traded the shilling at 66.20/30 to the dollar, compared with Friday's close of 66.25/35.


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South Sudan awards gold, uranium mining contracts

(Reuters) - South Sudan has awarded two companies exploration licenses for gold and uranium in areas thought to be rich in minerals, an official from the semi-autonomous region said.

British/South African New Kush Exploration and Mining Company and the UK-listed Brinkley Mining Plc paid $5,000 for one-year exploration licenses in the area bordering Kenya.


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Barclays Kenya's pretax profit rises 17 pct

(Reuters) - Barclays Bank Kenya reported a 17 percent rise in pretax profits on Friday to 3.547 billion shillings for the first half of 2007 as new branches led to growth in its assets.

"This is a very good result ... mainly driven by a strong asset growth and a significantly improved credit risk profile," Charles Ongwae, the bank's director of finance and planning told an investor briefing.


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Kenyan shilling steady vs dollar, market quiet

(Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling held steady against the dollar on Monday in quiet trade, with dealers expecting range-bound trade in coming days.

At 1005 GMT, commercial banks traded the local currency at 66.75/85, the same level as at Friday's close.


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Train runs double on Africa's "Lunatic Express" line

(Reuters) - Twice as many trains are now running on Kenya and Uganda's railway network, but it may take two years before customers see a major improvement in services, a consultant said on Wednesday.

The east African countries handed over their struggling rail operations to Rift Valley Railways in November. The private South African-led consortium hopes to transform the dilapidated 110-year-old railways into a major artery for regional trade.


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Kenya unveils Novozymes deal, warns bio-pirates

(Reuters) - Kenya unveiled a biotechnology research agreement with the world's top industrial enzymes maker Novozymes on Thursday and vowed to tackle bio-pirates it accuses of plundering its rich natural resources.

Enzymes developed from rare microbes in the east African nation's Rift Valley soda lakes are a key ingredient of products ranging from detergent to animal feed and are also used for bleaching faded denim jeans.


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Kenyan shilling eases slightly vs dollar, market quiet

(Reuters) - The Kenya shilling eased marginally against the dollar on Friday due to mild corporate dollar demand from the telecoms and energy sectors, dealers said.

At 1125 GMT, the shilling traded at 66.60/70 to the dollar, compared with Thursday's close of 66.55/65.


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Kenya to sell $150 mln eurobond in '08 fiscal year

(Reuters) - Kenya plans to issue a $150 million Eurobond in the 2008 fiscal year and expects to sell half its stake in mobile phone operator Safaricom by the end of calendar year 2007, a senior Treasury official said on Tuesday.

Joseph Kinyua, permanent secretary to the Treasury responsible for economic and financial policy, told Reuters: "We plan to sell a $150 million Eurobond in the course of fiscal year 2008."


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Kenya's central bank cuts interest rate to 8.5 pct

(Reuters) - Kenya's central bank said on Monday said it had cut its key CBR interest rate to 8.5 percent from 10 percent.

"The Monetary Policy Advisory Committee (MPAC) held its fifteenth meeting on Wednesday ... and advised the CBK (Central Bank of Kenya) to set the CBR at 8.5 percent," a weekly bulletin from the central bank said. "The Central Bank concurred with the recommendation."


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East Africa budgets tackle infrastructure, poverty

(Reuters) - Observers broadly welcomed east Africa's three budgets on Friday, saying they all tackled priority areas like infrastructure and poverty alleviation.

Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania's finance ministers unveiled their 2007/08 programmes on Thursday with all of them proposing to increase social expenditure.


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