Capital Markets

Treasury raises 25pc of Sh1bn goal in M-Akiba sale

nse

NSE chief executive Geoffrey Odundo. FILE PHOTO | NMG

The Treasury raised only a quarter of the Sh1 billion it was targeting from extended sale mobile-based infrastructure bond M-Akiba by the close of sale on Monday.

The government raised Sh247.75 million, or 24.76 per cent of the target, from the offering which was opened on June 30 and which has a green shoe option of up to Sh3.85 billion.

The Treasury, the NSE and the Central Depository and Settlement Corporation (CDSC) said in a joint statement that only 5,988 of the 303,534 investors who had registered for the sale bought the bond, as they put on a brave face in spite of the low subscription.

“M-Akiba has completely transformed the savings and investment culture in our country, offering financial inclusion to all from the palm of their hands. As the first product of its kind in the world; we are happy to have successfully brought it to market,” NSE chief executive Geoffrey Odundo said in a statement.

READ: M-Akiba bond closing Monday amid low uptake

Investment analysts have largely blamed the poor showing on inadequate marketing campaigns and timing.

The bond was on sale at a time when the country’s attention was firmly riveted on politics, with investors wary of committing large sums of money to the new type of bond without assurance of the policy of the incoming administration on domestic debt.