Government seeks $1.5bn Abu Dhabi loan

Kenya is in talks for a $1.5bn loan from Abu Dhabi to help bridge its budget-financing gap. It’s the latest in a series of bailouts Abu Dhabi has extended to African countries in recent years – including $35bn to Egypt earlier this year – as it seeks to build influence on the continent. Moneyweb reports that Kenya, which is awaiting a long-delayed $600m IMF programme disbursement, is in dire need of funds. The Treasury is walking a financing tightrope after deadly protests forced President William Ruto’s administration to abandon tax measures that would have collected $2.7bn this year. As a result, Kenya has widened its budget deficit to 4.3% of GDP for the current fiscal year through June from an initial 3.3%, potentially breaching IMF-programme targets. To fill that hole, it plans to take on about $2.8bn foreign loans and borrow $3.2bn locally.

Full Moneyweb report