Friday, July 7, 2023 – Kenya has secured another syndicated medium-term loan worth Ksh70 billion (USD 500 million) to support the government’s development agenda.
The facility was sourced by Citibank, London Branch, Rand Merchant Bank, a division of FirstRand Bank Limited (RMB), The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited (Standard Bank), Standard Chartered Bank (Standard Chartered), and their respective affiliates.
In a statement, the financial institutions announced that the money will help the Kenya Kwanza administration implement various development projects.
“The proceeds from the facility will be used by the National Treasury to finance the development projects as per the development budget approved by the Kenyan Parliament for the Fiscal Year 2022/2023,” the commercial institutions announced.
Before securing the syndicated loan, Africa Export-Import Bank partnered with the facility to help monitor how Ruto’s administration will utilise the funds.
“The Africa Export-Import Bank joined the facility as bookrunner and mandated lead arranger, and its subscriptions allocated towards the longer-term tranche,” the statement added.
The loan acquisition came a month after World Bank approved a Ksh138.5 billion loan to help the country ease its debt burden.
In a statement, the World Bank indicated that the facility will help Ruto address the weakening shilling against the US dollar.
World Bank’s senior economist, Aghassi Mkrtchyan, stated that the funds will be awarded through a Development Policy Operations (DPO) instrument.
“The DPO’s support for the government’s reforms will help to achieve fiscal consolidation, which is essential for reducing the debt burden and related risks in an equitable and sustainable manner,” the financial institution stated.
Ruto’s increased appetite for loans comes even as he had vowed never to borrow again with Kenya’s debt burden now beyond the Sh10 trillion mark.
.jpg)
0 Comments