The Kenya Planters Co-operative Union has been placed under receivership over a Sh700 million debt and its operations taken over by Consultancy firm, Deloitte on behalf of the debenture holder, the Kenya Commercial Bank, Business Daily reported. KPCU managing director Gerald Masila termed the action un-procedural, adding: “We were not informed about the move but we will be responding through the legal channels.

The holding company of Northland avocado oil producer Olivado is in receivership after failing to secure new funding arrangements following a management bust up. Auckland firm PKF Corporate Recovery & Insolvency has been appointed as receiver for Olivado Holdings Ltd, which operates Olivado New Zealand Ltd, Olivado Kenya (EPZ) Ltd and Olivado USA Inc. Those firms will continue trading and are not in receivership, a spokeswoman for Olivado said.

Kenya is seeking $500 million in funds to help cushion the economy after the global economic crisis cut exports and foreign investment, Prime Minister Raila Odinga said. The funds are over and above the $200 million loan that Kenya has obtained from the International Monetary Fund, Odinga said in an interview in Cape Town yesterday, where he was attending the World Economic Forum on Africa. The global recession has curbed Kenya’s foreign currency earnings as exports fell and remittances from Kenyans living abroad declined.

Nairobi sweets manufacturer Swan Industries has been placed under receivership by Investment and Mortgage Bank (I&M Bank) in a move that threatens to render more than 100 people jobless, Business Daily reported. The Kisumu-based company has been unable to pay a loan, which the bank refused to disclose on confidentiality grounds, on reduced sales in western Kenya and cutthroat competition from low-cost producers based in Nairobi. The bank appointed Mr Vipul Shah and Mr Dipesh Shah of Nairobi-based VSC Consultants as joint receiver managers.