Cheaper multilateral loans now top Kenya’s debt pile
National Treasury and Economic Planning Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u (Centre) with Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo (left) and his Economic Planning counterpart James Muhati ahead of the 2023/2024 budget statement reading in Parliament on June 15, 2023.
Kenya is increasingly relying on loans especially from the World Bank and the IMF due to the longer repayment periods and lower interest rates.
Between 2001 and 2004, the ratio of multilateral debt service to loan stock stood at 3.6 per cent underlining the more favourable repayment terms.
Kenya’s multilateral debt grew to more than double its bilateral loans for the first time in June underlining the country’s gradual shift to cheaper concessional financing in recent decades.
According to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), the country’s multilateral debt hit a record Sh2.74 trillion in June translating to 50.2 per cent of Kenya’s Sh5.45 trillion external debt stock.
