. Nairumour that after an absence of many years, Pepsi will re-enter the Kenyan market in the near future to resume battle with Coca Cola, possibly through their South African partners. If so, it will cap a great year for investment to the country, and that despite 2008 being a relatively tough year for investors and companies, with the post-election violence, business disruption, high fuel and energy prices, depressed consumer spending, P & P madness (pirates and politicians) collapsing stockbrokers, there was a steady flow of new investments and new products that happened this year. Re-cap of some notable ones
Banking
- Takeovers concluded - Ecobank take over of EABS, and Stanbic merger with CFC (now CFCStanbic)
- UBA licensed (2009)
- Gulf African and First Community (Shariah banking kicks off)
Beverages
- Summit Lager a new beer from Keroche Industries
- East African Breweries launched Alvaro (malted soft drink)
- Coca Cola launched Novidia (another malted soft drink) and also started selling Minute maid
- KETEPA launched Safari Iced Tea
Communications
- WPP buys into Scangroup
- 2008 saw the launch of two new mobile operators - Orange (France Telkom) and Yu (Essar/Econet) to battle Safaricom and a re-energized Zain
- Altech buys into KDN
- A long-running fight over one(EASSY)submarine cable, gave birth to three different ones being laid to Mombasa
- Wananchi launched Zuku (TV, Broadband, Phone)
Transport, Energy & Manufacturing
- Tiger brands buying into Haco
- An investment in the Kenya Oil Refinery at Mombasa was still under battle between Libyan and Indian Investors
- Jinchuan (China) to bail out Tiomin?
- Mirambo and PD Toll to salvage the Rift Valley Railways
- Delta Airlines (USA - but postponed to 2009)
- Air Arabia started flights to Kenya
Tourism
- Libyans took over the Grand (Laico) Regency
- The Tribe opens.
Exits
- Chevron (Caltex) sold out – bought by Total
- Unilever (de-listing from the NSE)
- Roy Puffet from rift Valley Railways
