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Kenyan Airways, Uganda Airlines in talks over interline, other deals

Published

1 year ago

June 30, 2023

Talks have commenced between Kenya Airways (KQ) and Uganda Airlines for interline and re-protection deals in an effort to expand access to several new locations.

KQ chief executive, Allan Kilavuka disclosed that the talks were at an advanced stage and would likely begin the transfer of passengers to one another’s networks.

“The talks are on but the timelines are as soon as we can agree and do the set-up. These (deals) fall within our partnership pillar, which is part of our strategy. It is also in line with our pan-African strategy,” said Mr. Kilavuka.

On its part, Ugandan Airlines says it wants to complete the agreement before the year is through in order to increase income.

“Conversations are ongoing with Kenya Airways for both interline and re-protection. A lot is going on between the two, and we hope to have an agreement by the end of the year,” Peggy Macharia, country manager of Uganda Airlines in Kenya, said.

Under an interline agreement, travellers can check in once for all of the flights on their itinerary, obtain boarding cards, and transfer luggage from the original airline without having to pick up and drop off the original airline’s baggage.

While a re-protection enables the airline to transfer its passengers to a rival carrier with whom they share a destination when it is unable to fly to a certain destination due to a mechanical issue or scheduling change.

Kenya Airlines has a public-private partnership structure, although the Kenyan government is the company’s largest shareholder (48.9%), while Uganda Airlines is 99.9 percent privately owned by an undisclosed individual or individuals, with the government owning just 0.0001% of the airline’s shares.

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IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

2 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

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Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.