Friday, February 16, 2024 - Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo has warned Kenyans hoarding dollars that they risk incurring more losses after the shilling posted its strongest intra-day gain against the dollar for the first time in over a decade.
Kiptoo attributed the
shilling's dramatic rise to investors' confidence drawn from the government's
move to buy back the Ksh316 billion (USD2 billion) Eurobond maturing in June
this year.
"I want to
encourage Kenyans that the risk of failure to settle for the Eurobond is gone.
Sell your dollars and get back to business. Don't do any speculation anymore,”
Kiptoo advised.
"The issue has
been addressed. There is now confidence and you can tell the shilling is
beginning to improve. As of this morning, I was told it was trading at 151
units and yesterday it was at 157, and previously it was at 160 and that is
very good news," he added.
In the latest Central
Bank of Kenya data, the shilling is currently trading at 153 units against the
greenback, hitting its strongest streak since November last year.
The other factors that
have boosted the shilling include foreign investments in the CBK's Ksh70
billion infrastructure bond.
While defending the
government's move to sell the new Eurobond worth Ksh234 billion (USD1.5
billion), Kiptoo stated the securities had attracted more than USD6 billion in
offers.
The hike in
subscriptions was due to investors’ confidence in Kenya’s economic and debt
management strategies.
Kiptoo added that the
fear of Kenya defaulting on the Ksh316 billion Eurobond had been eliminated
following the issuance of the new Eurobond.
The new 7-year debt is
set to be repaid in three instalments with the last one repaid in 2031.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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