Government Opens Third M-Akiba Bond Offer to Raise Ksh.250M

The government through the National Treasury, the Central Depository and Settlement Corporation (CDSC), and the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has opened the M-Akiba Retail Infrastructure Bond in a bid to raise 250 million shillings against the 1 billion-shilling target.

The offer opened on Monday and will close on March 8, 2019, after which it will be listed on the NSE for trading on March 12, 2019.

The M-Akiba bond will run for one and a half years with a redemption date of September 7, 2020. In 2017 when the retail infrastructure bond was launched, it fetched 247.75 million shillings, which is slightly less than a quarter of the 1 billion shillings on offer.

Kenyans can now begin to invest as little as 3,000 shillings in a tax-free government bond traded through a mobile platform earning an interest of 10 percent annually.

According to the CDSC Chief Executive, Rose Mambo, this M-Akiba offer comes on the back of two successful offers since 2017.

“The uptake of the second offer was Sh247 million with over 300,000 Kenyans registering on the platform showing that interest remained extremely high for such products,” she Mambo.

Mambo also added that the corporation, on behalf of the government, had paid investors 47.2 million shillings in interest.

During the offer period, CDSC will facilitate the creation of CDS accounts, processing of applications in the primary market, and offer registry services as a sub-register to the Central Bank of Kenya.

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“During the secondary market, CDSC shall continue to facilitate the settlement of M-Akiba transactions traded on the NSE and shall manage coupon payments and redemption of the bond at maturity,” Mambo added.

Geoffrey Odundo, the NSE Chief Executive, said M-Akiba is a low-risk investment product that offers investors a steady source of income and an effective way of saving for the future.

“The bond offers simplicity, convenience as well as great value to Kenyans across a wide spectrum of the economy,” said Odundo.

M-Akiba retail bond seeks to deepen and enhance financial inclusion through leveraging on increased mobile phone penetration to democratize access to formal financial systems for savings and investments.

To participate in the bond, investors can dial the USSD code * 889#.

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