Kenya to Raise $1.05 Billion of Syndicated Loans to Fund Budget

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya’s government is raising at least $1.05 billion through syndicated loans, including $250 million already secured from lenders led by PTA Bank, Treasury Principal Secretary Kamau Thugge said.

PTA, an East African trade-finance bank based in Burundi, has already disbursed $100 million, while a further $150 million will be received “shortly,” Thugge said in a mobile-phone text message Wednesday. “We are also syndicating $800 million to international banks,” he said.

Kenya’s government outlined plans in last year’s budget to raise $1.5 billion from external sources in the fiscal year through June. Thugge didn’t immediately comment on how the state will raise the remaining $495 million.

Morocco’s Free Float All Share Index has rallied about 11 percent this year in dollar terms, the third-best performance globally, boosting the Casablanca exchange’s market capitalization to the highest level since 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Investors are being lured by the central bank’spledge to move to a more flexible currency regime this year and an expected acceleration in economic growth to 4.2 percent from 1.2 percent in 2016.