NAIROBI, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President William Ruto said Wednesday the government has successfully settled part of its 2 billion U.S. dollars in Eurobonds maturing in June, eliminating the risk of debt default.
Ruto said in a statement released in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, that the country used the 1.5 billion dollars it raised on Feb. 12 in the Eurobond buyback issue to settle the debt.
"The successful execution of both the buyback and the new bond demonstrates strong investor confidence in Kenya through the international capital markets and a vote of confidence in the government's overall debt management strategy," Ruto said.
He observed that as a result of Kenya's sound debt management strategy, general economic management policies, and the tightening of the monetary policy, investor confidence in the country has grown.
This has, therefore, resulted in the appreciation of the shilling against the dollar from 162 to 142, he said.
Ruto attributed the recent steep decline of the shilling to "adverse developments in the international monetary system and disruptions in the global supply chains."
The strengthening of the shilling against the dollar, according to the president, has reduced Kenya's overall debt by 722 billion shillings (about 4.96 billion dollars) and also cut the debt service costs by 1.33 billion dollars over the next six years, saving the country a total cost of 6.29 billion dollars.
Central Bank of Kenya data indicate that the East African nation's total debt stood at 76.1 billion dollars at the end of 2023, with external debt comprising 41.7 billion dollars of the amount. ■
