Treasury adds Ksh.17 billion from May bonds tap-sale

The National Treasury has added Ksh.17 billion from the extended sale of Treasury bonds this month.

The May bond sales which run through the week to Friday received investor bids totaling to Ksh.17 billion with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) accepting the entire sum offered.

The tap-sale was on the back of a lack-lustre primary sale earlier in May which tapped Ksh.31.7 billion against a target of Ksh.60 billion.

This as investors continued to largely stay away from bonds as the price in risks occasioned by rising interest rates.

The new proceeds take the exchequer total nettings from bonds this month to Ksh.48.7 billion.

The nettings however remain below the Treasury's initial target of tapping Ksh.60 billion.

Investors in the tap sale have accepted returns of 13.49 per cent for the new 10-year paper on offer and 13.976 per cent for the re-opened 25-year issue.

The slack in the subscription to Treasury bonds by investors comes as shorter-dated Treasury bills (T-bills) register increased demand over recent weeks.