Good prices, increasing production excite UCDA A coffee replanting initiative, which started nearly five years ago, is expected to boost the country’s crop volumes starting this year. “We are seeing an increase in the coffee export volumes this year as the crops we started planting more than three years ago …
Read More »UTL needs Shs 170.8bn in new turnaround strategy
Faisel Gergab, is chairman of the Libyan Post, Telecommunication and Information Technology Holding Company (LPTIC) that owns 69% stake in UTL. He spoke to The Independent’s Isaac Khisa on the issues surrounding the company’s poor performance and its future outlook, just before government took over its management. How do you …
Read More »Nakumatt gets Shs280bn cash injection
Retail chain finalises plans to pay suppliers debts, revamp outlets Finally, there is good news at the outlets of Nakumatt Holdings in Uganda following an announcement by Atul Shah, the group managing director, that it was getting a US$75 million (Approx. Shs282.4 billion) capital injection. Shah said in a …
Read More »Trade ministry, local governments fight over alcohol law
Proponents of the law say it will ensure a healthy and productive population Uganda’s trader ministry and the Gulu District Local Government are at loggerheads over the latter’s decision to pass an ordinance restricting the sale and consumption of alcohol. Gulu District Councilors enforced an Alcohol Control Ordinance starting last …
Read More »Madhvani Group acquires Kigali’s Umubano Hotel
The new investor will renovate the facility to tap into growing country’s tourism sector Rwanda’s hospitality industry has received a major boost after Uganda’s Madhvani Group acquired Umubano Hotel, ending a long-running delay that was hurting the credibility of this facility as well as tourism prospects. The 4- star facility …
Read More »How Dfcu beat other investors to take-over Crane Bank
Dfcu’s new take-over will help expand its footprint countrywide When Bank of Uganda Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile announced that they were transferring liabilities and assets of Crane Bank to the Development Finance Company of Uganda (Dfcu), many wondered how that was possible. Crane Bank, set up in 1995, has been the …
Read More »Can Uganda survive with highest electricity prices in EA?
Recent hike means current tariff structure could end up killing industries The cost of production in Uganda could soon rise as government continues to increase electricity tariffs amidst dwindling production due to low consumer demand. Analysis by The Independent shows that the government has increased electricity tariffs by over 22% …
Read More »MMI Holdings enters Uganda’s insurance market
The South African company is projected to boost the country’s insurance penetration that now standing at 0.86%, the lowest in the region Low income earners, who often forgo insurance due to the expense, now have an affordable option that they could consider. South Africa-based insurance company, Metropolitan & Momentum International …
Read More »Rethinking Uganda Airlines
Analysts say the government needs Shs800bn subsidy annually to keep national carrier in the air The good news is that if President Yoweri Museveni’s New Year 2017 pledge is implemented, Uganda could end this year with a revived national air carrier. The bad is that the revived Uganda Airlines could …
Read More »Steel troubles melt away in 2017
Sector positive on government promise of deals in infrastructure projects Like most of the Uganda’s manufacturing industry, 2016 was brutal for the steel industry, with dwindling production due to low demand. Uganda has 12 steel mills with a production capacity of more than 500,000 tonnes annually, but the country’s steel …
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