Japanese automaker Isuzu Motors Limited has bought out General Motors’ 57.7 per cent stake in General Motors East Africa (GMEA) for an undisclosed sum.   The transaction will see the motor dealer change its name to Isuzu East Africa in April to reflect the change of control.   Most of the dealer’s sales are bus, pick-ups and truck brands of the Japanese multinational whose status shifts from a vehicle supplier to an.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 3rd March 2017

A strategy to promote local assembling of vehicles in East African countries may see Uganda lose heavily in customs duties collected daily.   According to Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) statistics every day Uganda imports about 100 vehicles from countries such as Japan, Germany, UK and United Arab Emirates.   The records mean every month URA collects between Shs28 billion and Shs35 billion worth of taxes from car imports alone..... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 17th February 2017

Addis Ababa City Transport Authority yesterday announced that new meter taxis fare rate would take effect today.   According to the Authority, the fare of four-seat meter taxis is 10 Birr per kilometer while 13 Birr for seven-seat taxis per kilometer.   Authority Communication Officer Meteku Gebisa said that this rate would be effective up until 10 PM local time. Beginning from 10:01 onward, the rate will increase by 50 per cent,.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 14th February 2017

New luxury car sales dropped 30.3 per cent last year, with Jaguar being the only model to register higher demand among Kenyan dealers. Luxury car traders sold 285 units of the high-end vehicles in the year, down from a peak of 409 units recorded in 2015, according to data from the Kenya Motor Industry Association (KMI). Orders for Jaguars, sold by RMA Kenya, defied the general slump rising to 39 units from the previous year’s.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 10th February 2017

A three-wheeler assembly plant owned by Redawa Motors Industry PLC and located in Dire Dawa City, Ethiopia, is scheduled to start production in two month's time. The assembly line is located in Dire Dawa’s Industrial Village.   The construction of the assembly plant had started two years ago and was built at a cost of over 1.7 billion Birr.   According to the company’s General Manager, Engineer Tadesse Admasie, the.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 8th February 2017

Nairobi — France has overtaken Japan as Kenya's second-largest bilateral creditor accounting for 2 percent of external debt.   France has extended credit in the form of concessional Treasury loans and credit-export guarantee to a tune of Sh78 billion.   French Minister for the Economy and Finance Michael Sapin said France will continue its increased focus on supporting the private sector through the financing of the banking.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 8th February 2017

 On the evening of Friday 27th January 2017, members of the business community in Tanzania gathered at the Hyatt Regency Hotel to celebrate the most accomplished businesses of 2016. The event was the Tanzania Leadership Awards (TLA), which honors successful businesses that range from conglomerates with more than 500 employees, to small start-ups with a staff count of 2 to 4 employees.   Expogroup, a pioneer in the trade show industry.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 3rd February 2017

Chinese vehicle manufacturer King Long has formally started importation of its buses in the Tanzanian market through an agent Pwani Motors Limited.   Speaking during the launch of the sales at the weekend which was attended by bus operators in Tanzania, the company's marketing manager for the Southern Africa region, Mr Danny Fu, said the entry in to the Tanzanian market followed an intensive market research.   "We conducted a.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 24th January 2017

Kenya’s GDP per capita is expected to grow at a remarkable compounded annual growth rate of 7.5% between 2000 and 2020 which is expected to drive an increase in personal consumption and sale of motor vehicles. The purchase of cars, motorbikes and other commercial vehicles accounted for 1.5% of total consumer expenditure last year and is expected to steadily grow till 2025 as incomes continue to rise. Supporting and engaging the East.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 23rd January 2017

 Four locomotives and two Shatners (railway engines) arrived at the port of Mombasa on Monday as the Sh372 billion Standard Gauge Railway takes shape. Kenya Ports Authority managing director Catherine Mturi-Wairi received the cargo that arrived aboard MV Kota Bistari from the manufacturer, China Railway Rolling Stock. The locomotives have been brought into the country by the Chinese Engineering, Procurement and Construction Company and.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 12th January 2017

 The completion of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway, a new 752km track linking Ethiopia's capital with the Port of Djibouti, was officially marked today at a ceremony at Nagad Railway Station in Djibouti. In the presence of Djibouti's President, His Excellency Ismail Omar Guelleh, and Ethiopia's Prime Minister, His Excellency Hailemariam Desalegn, and senior officials from across the region, the new railway linking Djibouti to Ethiopia was.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 12th January 2017

ADDIS ABABA -- Ethiopia has grand ambitions for its tiny auto industry, seeking to transform a handful of assemblers that bolt together imported kits into a network of factories that can make the country Africa's biggest car manufacturer over the next two decades.   Ethiopia produces about 8,000 commercial and other vehicles a year for the home market, about a quarter of which are cars. But executives say they have capacity to make more.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 5th January 2017