Business leaders want economic reforms to boost the economy Planned government borrowing and increased taxes to fund the Shs29 trillion budget for financial year 2017/2018 have left investors and business leaders worried about the coming year, ahead of the budget announcement next week, an informal survey by The Independent has …
Read More »Rockefeller Foundation to boost Uganda’s electricity access
The Foundation plans to replicate the Smart Power India initiative in Africa starting with Uganda and Kenya The Rockefeller Foundation plans to create a Smart Power Africa initiative on the continent starting with Uganda and Kenya, according to its President Rajiv J. Shah. Shah, who was in Uganda on May …
Read More »AVIATION: Open the East African skies
Aviation experts say the Open Skies initiative will increase passenger traffic and increase connectivity in the region Flying from Entebbe to Nairobi is generally considered as a massive undertaking. This is because a passenger has to pay an average of US$400 (Shs1.4million) for a return ticket for a journey that …
Read More »Nakumatt embarks on Shs51.1billion cost cutting drive
Two outlets to be closed in Kampala in the new plan Regional retail chain, Nakumatt Holdings, is targeting Ksh1.5billion (Shs51.1bn) in cost cuts annually with the closure of several branches across East Africa starting this month. The chain has already closed Katwe outlet in Kampala over accumulated rent arrears estimated …
Read More »Trade ministry bows to pressure, allows duty free rice imports
Trade ministry bows to pressure, allows duty free import of unprocessed rice Uganda’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives now says it has allowed the duty-free import of up to 50,000 metric tonnes of unprocessed rice, commonly known as ‘brown rice’, to boost supplies and check prices amid a fall …
Read More »BUSINESS: Uganda’s rice politics
Tax waiver on brown rice is meant to reduce its price from Shs 4,500 to Shs 3,000 per kilogramme The good news for rice consumers in Uganda is that if the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development sticks to its guns to have unprocessed rice commonly known as “brown …
Read More »BANKING: Centenary, Barclays see better days ahead
Look to heavy investment into technology to reverse slow 2016 growth Centenary Bank and Barclays Bank of Uganda Ltd registered slower growth in profits for the year ending December 2016 but the managers say that is no problem and instead remain positive about the future. Centenary’s profits grew by 8.2% …
Read More »‘Uganda’s beer market still has room for growth’
Greg Metcalf has been at the helm of the Nile Breweries Limited, a subsidiary of AB InBev based in Belgium since 2014. He spoke to The Independent’s Isaac Khisa on the prospects of Uganda’s beer market. What is your assessment of beer market in Uganda? The market has been …
Read More »BUSINESS: Africa’s insurance industry faces new challenges
African insurance regulators, CEOs and experts share views at high profile meeting in Dakar, Senegal For years now, digital advances have been transforming a range of industries. The insurance industry especially in Africa has generally been slow to adopt new digital approaches, but times are now changing. This shift is …
Read More »Housing Finance Bank registers Shs 18.05bn net profit
It now joins Stanbic, Stanchart, DFCU, DTB that have also recorded surge in profits in 2016 Uganda’s commercial banks spent almost the entire of last year worried about making money in a rather challenging economic environment that was characterised by high interest rates amidst slow economic activities. But they seemed …
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