NAIROBI, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's Treasury said Thursday it raised about 2 billion U.S. dollars in a new sovereign bond issue listed at the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
The Treasury said the issuance of the Eurobond that closed on Wednesday follows a successful roadshow conducted with international investors, who have expressed a significant level of interest.
"This issue was seven times oversubscribed. And makes it one of the highest order book for an issue from Africa," it said in a statement.
"The successful issuance confirms the continued vibrancy of our economy, and the fact that investors consider Kenya a go-to destination for their investments," it said.
The bond was arranged by a consortium of banks including the Citibank, JPMorgan, Standard Bank and Standard Chartered Bank.
According to the Treasury, having the issue listed in the London Stock Exchange further supports the liquidity for the issue.
"We have seen significant investment to our growing economy from global corporations and investors and this listing provides yet a further avenue for investors to participate in our story," it said.
The East African nation has now issued two Eurobond after the first one in 2014, which raised 2.8 billion dollars from international investors.
The Treasury said that the fact that Kenya received 14 billion dollars in investor appetite reflected the continued support the country receives.
"We now have a dollar yield curve stretching out to 30 years, making Kenya one of only a handful of governments in Africa to achieve this," the Treasury said.
It said that the funds will be applied towards the government's development initiatives including infrastructure as well as liability management.
Economic analysts say Kenya is currently facing an impending payment of the first part of a Eurobond amounting to 774.8 million dollars in 2018.
Britain-based risk and strategic consulting firm, Control Risks identifies Kenya's current debt as a potential deadlock to potential investments in the economy.
"The reality is that debt at the moment is sustainable based on what we see going on in the economy but there isn't room to do much more," Control Risks Associate Director Patrick Matu said in Nairobi. Enditem
