T-bills attract few takers as investors eye bond tap sale

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) building in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG 

By JAMES NGUNJIRI

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Summary

• During the auction, Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) only received bids worth Sh12.66 billion against an offer of Sh24 billion, a 52.77 per cent subscription.
• The CBK accepted Sh11.76 billion from what investors had offered.

Treasury bills subscription last week recorded an underperformance after it was weighted down by a tap sale of the primary bond issues, which received bids worth Sh15.50 billion against a target of Sh8.5 billion.

This weekly subscription was the lowest in the weekly series stretching back to end of October.

During the auction, Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) only received bids worth Sh12.66 billion against an offer of Sh24 billion, a 52.77 per cent subscription.

The CBK accepted Sh11.76 billion from what investors had offered.

In addition, market analysts said being the end of the quarter, a number of the market players kept off the discounted securities segment as they mapped out strategies for the second quarter.

READ: Treasury back in the market with Sh8.5 billion bond

“The subscription rates for the 91-, 182-, and 364-day papers came in at 44.05 per cent, 37.53 per cent and 71.49 per cent respectively,” a notice from CBK said.

The 91-day paper attracted bids worth Sh1.76 billion against an offer of Sh4 billion, which was all absorbed.

The 182-day paper attracted bids worth Sh3.75 billion against an offer of Sh10 billion. The Treasury absorbed the entire amount. The 364-day paper attracted bids worth Sh7.14 billion against an offer of Sh10 billion. The Treasury absorbed Sh6.24 billion from what investors offered.