This archive report was first published on 21 June 2021.
NCBA Group has taken drastic measures to recover a KSh4.3 billion debt owed by Kaluworks Limited, placing the company under receivership as of 27th May 2021.
The bank has appointed Pongangipalli Rao as the receiver manager, tasked with either turning around the firm or protecting its assets.
According to reports, several lenders, including I&M Bank, had previously scrambled for auctioneers and debt collectors to auction multimillion-dollar properties used to guarantee loans for Kaluworks after the firm failed to honour its obligations.
Kaluworks, a leading manufacturer of aluminium utensils and roofing sheets, has been struggling financially due to weak sales and increased competition from other cookware manufacturers.
As part of billionaire Manu Chandaria's Comcraft Group, Kaluworks started operations as a predominantly cookware manufacturer before diversifying into aluminium rolled products in 1988 with the establishment of a state-of-the-art aluminium rolling plant in Mariakani near Mombasa.
