Latest news with #ChrisKiptoo
Zawya
16-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Kenya eyes $155mln from sale of stake in parastatals
Kenya's National Treasury is looking to raise up to Ksh20 billion ($155 million) from listing of state-owned corporations on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). It is also considering a further reduction of its shareholding in those firms already listed, with the proceeds expected to offset part of pending bills estimated at Ksh700 billion ($5.42 billion). Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo told The EastAfrican on Tuesday that discussions over the target companies are on-going, but the plan has already been agreed on to raise money from the stock market and bolster activity on the bourse.'We are planning to go to the market in the course of the 2025/2026 fiscal year and we have candidates but, at this point, we haven't decided which ones,' Dr Kiptoo said.'We are just saying, why we can't bring vibrancy in the market? You know, it has been a while since we went to the capital markets to list. We could raise some money there and there are many candidates, some existing (listed). We could offload more from the existing ones. We could do new ones (IPOs).'The Nairobi bourse has not registered a single listing from a corporate entity in almost a decade, and the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) is keen on ending the initial public offerings (IPO) drought through a string of reforms, including relaxing rules for companies to list on the Main Investment Market Segment (MIMS) and the newly introduced small and medium-sized (SME) market segment. President William Ruto promised to end the IPO drought on the NSE by listing between five and 10 state-owned corporations during his first year in office, but the plan is yet to materialise.'There are those candidates (state-owned corporations) we have taken to the Cabinet,' the PS said. 'So, these are things we cannot at this point say we will do this or that, but Ksh20 billion is the estimate. We have a number. By June – by the time this budget is completed -- we should have done internal consultations,' Dr Kiptoo added. The chairperson of the Parliamentary Budget and Appropriation Committee Samuel Atandi expressed optimism about the Treasury's revenue projections, including receipts from the offloading of shares in state-owned corporations. Read: Kenya begins $24m asset valuation in run-up to major accounting overhaul'The investment revenues we are projecting to have has two votes: the particular vote of offloading shares in parastatals and the vote on dividends, which we will collect. I'm confident about these revenue projections,' Mr Atandi, the Alego Usonga MP, told The EastAfrican. In April, the Treasury ordered another audit of the government's unpaid bills requiring businesses owed money by the state to go through another layer of scrutiny. Under the plan the Treasury wants the Auditor-General to have oversight over the pending bills, which rose to Ksh706 billion ($5.47 billion) by December 2024, with counties accounting for Ksh182 billion ($1.41 billion) and National government Ksh524 billion ($4.06 billion). Last year, the CMA said rising interest rates made investors shift to high-yielding government bonds from the equities market, leaving companies seeking to raise new capital through the sale of shares to the public holding on for fear of undersubscription. Lucrative yields on government bonds, anti-Finance Bill 2024 protests by the Kenyan youth popularly referred to as Gen-Z in June, and the borrowing options granted by commercial banks further complicated the IPO environment, leaving potential issuers with hard choices to make on their funding plans. Three firms from the financial, food processing and mining sectors suspended plans to list on the bourse in 2023 fearing adverse pricing of their shares as a result of the persistent bear run on the bourse. Companies usually prefer to go public in a bull market, which allows them to sell shares at a premium valuation and enjoy a stable or rising paper wealth for their shareholders once they list. © Copyright 2022 Nation Media Group. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Zawya
23-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Kenya begins $24mln asset valuation in run-up to major accounting overhaul
Kenya's National Treasury has directed government accounting officers to identify and value public assets by June, as the Executive moves to adopt a new financial reporting standard that records income and expenses when earned or incurred—not when cash changes hands. Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo, in a circular dated April 14, 2025, seen by The EastAfrican, also instructed the accounting officers to appoint project managers and establish cash-to-accrual transition committees at entity level to oversee the switch.'In financial year 2024/2025, accounting officers are required to identify all the assets in their control or use, irrespective of proof of ownership and whether or not they can determine their values. Entities are required to report on all assets under their control. Where entities can identify and determine the values of assets, these should be recorded in the financial statements as early as possible," the memo said. Members of the cash-to-accrual transition committees will be drawn from various departments or directorates of the implementing entities and should include accounts, finance, public works, human resources, internal audit, ICT and asset management departments. The project manager will be appointed from among the staff of the implementing entity. The Treasury in February this year approved the valuation of all assets that Kenya owns as part of the move to shift the government's operations to a new reporting plan by 2027. The Cabinet approved the transition on March 7, 2024 and in August the same year the National Treasury assembled a steering committee chaired by Dr Kiptoo to oversee the transition from the cash-based accounting system that has been in use since 2014. The project whose total cost is estimated at Ksh3.1 billion ($24 million), is supported and supervised by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Kenya has set a three-year roadmap (July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2027) to consolidate all government assets and liabilities into a single balance sheet that will show the state's true financial position and help save on the cost of foreign borrowing. Treasury says the policy shift will improve transparency in the management of public debt and pending bills and help the government negotiate cheaper loans from foreign lenders. The identified asset classes for valuation include land, natural resources, road and rail infrastructure, electricity generation and distribution, water infrastructure and intangible assets. © Copyright 2022 Nation Media Group. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
