The offer opened on Monday and will close on March 8, 2019 after which it will be listed on the NSE for secondary trading on March 12, 2019.
NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 25 – The National Treasury, the Central Depository and Settlement Corporation (CDSC) and the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) jointly opened the M-Akiba Retail Infrastructure Bond.
This tranche seeks to raise Sh250 million against the Sh1 billion target. The offer opened on Monday and will close on March 8, 2019 after which it will be listed on the NSE for secondary trading on March 12, 2019.
The tenure for this bond will be one and a half years, with a redemption date of September 7, 2020.
The reopening of the bond will allow Kenyans to invest as little as Sh3,000 in a tax-free government bond traded via a mobile platform earning an interest of 10 percent per year
CDSC Chief Executive, Rose Mambo said this M-Akiba offer comes on the back of two successful offers since 2017.
“The uptake of the second offer was Sh247 million with over 300,000 Kenyans registering on the platform showing that interest remained extremely high for such products,” said Mambo.
She said the corporation, on behalf of the government, had paid investors Sh47.2 million in interest.
Mambo added that during the offer period, CDSC will facilitate the creation of CDS accounts, processing of applications in the primary market, and offer registry services as a sub-register to the Central Bank of Kenya.
“During the secondary market, CDSC shall continue to facilitate the settlement of M-Akiba transactions traded on the NSE and shall manage coupon payments and redemption of the bond at maturity.”
M-Akiba retail bond seeks to deepen and enhance financial inclusion through leveraging on increased mobile phone penetration to democratize access to formal financial systems for savings and investments.
NSE Chief Executive, Geoffrey Odundo said M-Akiba is a low-risk investment product that offers investors a steady source of income and an effective way of saving for the future.
“The bond offers simplicity, convenience as well as great value to Kenyans across a wide spectrum of the economy,” said Odundo.
Investors only need to dial *889# to participate in the bond issue.
