*Today’s News Highlights* ▪ *Treasury seeks Sh200bn budget top-up amid weak tax collections* The National Treasury is set to seek the approval of MPs to lift the budget for the fiscal year to June by Sh199.9 billion on the back of underperformance in tax collections, pointing to the likelihood of increased borrowing to cover the widening funding gap. The Cabinet approved the proposed second supplementary budget estimates covering the 2024/25 fiscal year with the top-up set to lift overall expenditure and net lending for the period past the Sh4 trillion mark, up from Sh3.88 trillion currently. ▪ *16 listed companies fail to issue investor calendars* Sixteen listed firms are yet to issue investors with a forward-looking events calendar for 2025, a month from the January 10 deadline. A spot-check of listed firms’ investor relations pages and the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) investor calendar webpage as of Tuesday afternoon showed that 46 of the 62 listed entities had made the voluntary disclosure, with the rest being mostly suspended companies. The disclosures are, however, voluntary implying that the 16 firms will not be facing sanctions from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) for non-compliance. ▪ *The Cabinet raises limit for untaxed traveller items* The Cabinet has approved a higher value of personal effects that travellers can bring into Kenya without being taxed, offering relief to those inconvenienced by seizures by tax agents at various ports of entry. The move is expected to benefit many citizens who come back with goods of small value from abroad. “Kenyan citizens will benefit from an increased duty-free threshold of goods brought into the country, which has now been increased from Sh50,000 to Sh250,000,” a statement following the Tuesday special Cabinet meeting noted. ▪ *Insurers report first medical underwriting profit in three years* General insurers have posted underwriting profit from medical insurance covers for the first time in three years, offering a boost to a segment that has been struggling to stem out fraud from this business. Latest Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) data shows insurers posted a Sh397.23 million underwriting profit in the half-year ended June 2024, marking an improvement from a loss of Sh399.7 million they made in a similar period in 2023. The Sh397.23 million underwriting profit —premiums remaining after claims have been paid and administrative expenses deducted— is the first profit in this class of insurance since the Sh80.43 million posted in the year ended December 2021, helped by Covid-19 disruptions that put off many people from visiting hospitals. ▪ *Galana Energies bags Sh1bn diesel deal* Galana Energies bagged a Sh1.105 billion deal to supply diesel for the Menengai and Baringo-Silali geothermal projects, lifting the veil on lucrative contracts for local oil firms taking on cash-rich multinationals. Disclosures by the Geothermal Development Company (GDC) show that Galana was already supplying the fuel by the end of last year. The contract period is, however, undisclosed. The deal is a major boost to the local oil firm given that it is one of the scores of the Kenyan oil firms that are fighting stiff competition from well-oiled multinationals for the fuel retail market. _Courtesy: Business Daily_ https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaBcBIRAzNbtD1l1eA1k