Kampala plans $6 bn bonds issue

Aerial view of a section of Kampala. PHOTO | FILE  

By CHARLES MWANIKI

In Summary

• The city officials estimate it will need about $6 billion to invest in its infrastructure over the next decade.

Kampala plans to issue a municipal bond in the next eight months in a move that could provide a blueprint for Kenyan counties seeking to raise development funds. Issuance of municipal bonds, a standard practice in Developed World cities, is taking root in Africa with a few bonds in the pipeline.

“Uganda’s capital city, Kampala, plans to issue the country’s first municipal bond by June 2015 to finance infrastructure development needed to change it into a modern commercial hub,” the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) said in a statement issued through the NSE.

The city officials estimate it will need about $6 billion to invest in its infrastructure over the next decade.

Counties in Kenya have been planning to roll out ambitious infrastructure projects, especially in large urban centres but have been hampered by poor finances as they grapple with growing recurrent demands.

The Capital Markets Authority has already started consultations on regulations governing how counties can issue such bonds.