The Standard Investment Bank (SIB) has established a desk that will enable Kenyans to invest and trade in Eurobonds issued by the government.
Standard Investment Bank, which offers offshore trading services to clients through its Mansa-X platform, said the Eurobond trading desk will also allow clients to trade in sovereign bonds issued by other African countries such as Ghana and Angola.
Kenya has issued four Eurobonds since 2014, which trade in the secondary market at the London and Irish stock exchanges. Secondary market trading allows investors to buy the bonds from those who had purchased the securities earlier and earn interest besides having the option of selling them.
The Eurobond market has almost always been out of reach for investors from Kenya as a result of lack of access to the London and Dublin markets, owing to the tiring process of finding an intermediary to conduct the trades.
As part of a continuing commitment to reduce debt-related vulnerabilities, Kenya is expected to continue to rely on concessional development financing, while tapping international financial markets to roll over maturing Eurobonds and optimize the debt service profile.
Kenya is expected to continue to tap global capital markets to roll over maturing Eurobonds, with the next Eurobond repayment falling due in June 2024.