NAIROBI, Kenya, March 6 –Kenya’s Eurobond debt stands at Sh914.2 billion and the country will repay it by 2048, the Treasury revealed Monday.
The largest of the debt, Sh257.9 billion, taken in 2014, will mature in June 2024, according to the Treasury in a debt report released in Nairobi.
The bond’s issuance in 2014 marked Kenya’s entrance into the commercial debt arena to fund its budget deficit.
In 2027, Kenya would be obligated to repay a Sh116billion Eurobond issued in 2019 while in 2028, the east African nation’s Sh128.9billion Eurobond issued in 2018 would mature, according to the Treasury.
Similarly, in 2032, the country’s Sh154.7billion Eurobond will mature, while in 2034 and 2048, two Sh128.9 billion bonds will be up for repayment, said the Treasury.
Interest rates for all the bonds vary from 6.8 percent to 8.3 percent.
Kenya’s public debt currently stands at Sh9.1trillion, with 49 percent being domestic and 51 percent external, according to the National Treasury.
The Treasury in a recent debt management report said it would shift to syndicated bonds issued in local currency to explore new ways to raise money to finance the country’s Sh3.6trillion budget and cushion the country’s debt from foreign currency depreciations.