Kenya licenses FirstRand to open representative office

JOHANNESBURG  - Kenya has licensed South African banking group FirstRand to open a representative office for marketing and liaison purposes, the east African nation's central bank said on Friday.
Banks have been queuing up to set up operations in the region's biggest economy, drawn by faster economic growth and the country's status as a hub for financial services in the region.
FirstRand, South Africa's second biggest lender, would be the fourth foreign bank granted such a license in Kenya after HSBC, South Africa's Nedbank and HDFC Bank of India.