CBK infrastructure bond 'twice oversubscribed'

3 December 2009

A Kenya infrastructure bond has drawn $589 million (£355 million) in bids, Bloomberg has reported.

The Central Bank of Kenya reported bids for their infrastructure bond sale were twice oversubscribed.

Director of monetary operations and debt management Jackson Kitili said the proceeds would go towards funding road, energy and water projects.

The news source reported opinions that this trend reflected a general desire to look beyond the stock market - which has declined 9.5 per cent since January - into fixed-income yields.

In effect, while the Nairobi Stock Exchange All Share Index was dropping, MSCI's Global Emerging Markets Index rose 74 per cent.

Kenya's finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta was quoted by Bloomberg as saying spending on infrastructure and agriculture would rise 15 per cent through June 2010.

The news source also reported this week that the country was selling off or leasing as many as 26 state companies and assets as part of a bid to entice private sector investment in infrastructure projects.

Category: Energy