Capital Market

Kenya's Economic Reforms Attracts Record Capital Market Investment from BlackRock.

Africa Finance Review

Apr 8, 2024 — 1 min read

Image Credit: Tada Images - Adobe Stock

The ongoing economic reform implemented by President William Ruto's government has boosted Kenya's stock market and instilled confidence in international investors.

Let's go deeper: Kenya's current debt profile is approximately $61.5 billion, 67% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Due to a 29% currency devaluation against the dollar in 2023, the cost of servicing this debt has significantly increased.

However, the country's macroeconomic environment has shown improvement, thanks to the structured International Monetary Fund (IMF) program and tighter monetary policy. President Ruto has been actively promoting Kenya's economic growth prospects, which has resulted in the NSE All-Star Index rallying to 48% in dollar equivalent. This has attracted investors like BlackRock to take a position in the market.

The bottom line: The significance of BlackRock's confidence in Kenya's capital market is immense, as it is the world's largest asset manager with assets under management totalling $10 trillion. This makes Kenya a highly attractive option for frontier market investors.

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Ecobank Repays $500Million 5-Year Eurobond Debt.

Egypt Receives $820 Million From IMF's Extended Fund Facility (EFF) Deal.

Kenya: The Rise of Rutonomics

Ghana Yet To Restructure $13 Billion Debt with International Bondholders