Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded Kenya’s sovereign creditworthiness to a negative rating of B2 stable due to rising liquidity risk, increased external vulnerability and higher reliance on commercial external debt. In its “Sovereigns — Sub-Saharan Africa: 2019 outlook, it states that Kenya “will likely rely on cuts to capital expenditures rather than reducing recurrent expenditures or increasing revenue mobilization to achieve their fiscal targets.” This is similar to 2018 where the firm maintained Kenya’s credit scores at B2 stable after putting its earlier score of B1 on downgrade review in October 2017. In December 2018, the firm said Kenya’s debt…
Author: David Indeje
David Indeje
David Indeje is the Community Engagement Editor at Khusoko, East Africa’s leading digital business news platform. He shapes editorial content, drives audience engagement, and amplifies diverse voices. Beyond journalism, he consults on digital strategy across agriculture, governance, technology, and health, while examining AI’s role in the future of media. He also serves as Communications Officer at KICTANet, advancing digital inclusion and policy dialogue.
Kenyan legislator has made a proposal that would allow SMEs and unsecured individual borrowers to negotiate risk-based interest rates above the normal cap. Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria in a proposal to the speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi, says the risk negotiation window should be up to 6% above the lending cap for SMEs. “Unsecured individual customers should negotiate pricing based on their risk profile and on a willing buyer, willing seller basis,” Kuria proposes in a letter dated 14 January 2019. “The amendment will go a long way to free credit to the SMEs, discourage government borrowing…
Property analysts have mixed views on the outlook for the real estate in Kenya this year across its segments with an overall neutral sentiment and only selected markets continuing to exhibit high returns. Juster Kendi, a Research Analyst at Cytonn Real Estate, sees the residential sector and retail sector as neutral, mixed-use developments as positive with the commercial office sector being given a negative outlook. “Our outlook for Real Estate is neutral, as the slowdown in demand for property persists amid increasing supply. We expect a positive performance in sectors like Mixed Use Development, Land and Hospitality, and negative performance…
Kenya’s National Treasury has projected an overall budget deficit of 5.0% for the 2019/2020 fiscal year from a revised deficit of 6.3% of GDP in the 2018/19 fiscal year according to Draft 2019 Budget Policy Statement. “The deficit is projected to decline from 7.2% in FY 2017/18 to 6.3 in FY 2018/19 and further to 3.0% of the GDP in FY 2022/23,” said Treasury. Henry Rotich, the Treasury CS says, “The fiscal policy in this BPS targets to support rapid and inclusive economic growth while ensuring a sustainable debt position and lower fiscal deficits.” The BPS is themed ‘Harnessing “The…
The Central Bank of Kenya, on behalf of the government, has put on offer two new issues of 2-year (FXD 1/2019/2) and 15- year (FXD1/2019/15) fixed coupon treasury bonds this January. The amounts raised will go into supporting the country’s 2018/19 fiscal budget. According to the Central Bank of Kenya, the Bonds are subject to withholding tax at the rate of 15% for the two-year bond and 10% for the fifteen-year bond. The bank will receive bids for the bond until Tuesday, 22nd January 2019 and auction it on 23rd January 2019. According to Faith Atiti and Stephanie Kimani, CBA…
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