Kenya in talks with World Bank for loan of up to $1 bln
Kenya is in advanced talks with the World Bank for "a fairly priced" loan of up to KES100 billion ($991.57 million), nearly half of the country's required external funding this fiscal year.
The East African nation wants to cut debt from overseas capital markets, after a borrowing binge in recent years, including Eurobond offerings, a package of Chinese loans and syndicated commercial loans.
The Washington D.C.-based financier lent money straight to the Kenyan ministry of finance for the first time last year, changing past practice where it channelled cash straight to the projects, bypassing the Treasury. The size of the loan from the World Bank will be determined by how much its own funders can put together, said Julius Muia, the principal secretary in the ministry of finance.
