William Ruto Rings Bell as Linzi Finco Lists KSh 44.9b Bond on NSE to Fund Talanta Stadium
- President William Ruto led the bell-ringing ceremony at the NSE to mark the listing of the Linzi 003 bond to fund the development of Talanta Stadium
- Ruto hailed the listing as a historic achievement and called it a sign of growing confidence in market-based infrastructure financing
- Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro criticised the bond’s 15.04% interest rate, warning that taxpayers will pay over KSh 100 billion
- Nyoro accused the government of forcing the NSSF to invest workers' pensions in the deal following low investor interest
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Elijah Ntongai, an editor at TUKO.co.ke, has over four years of financial, business, and technology research and reporting experience, providing insights into Kenyan, African, and global trends.
Linzi Finco LLP has listed the Linzi 003 Infrastructure Asset-Backed Security on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
Source: Twitter
The bond that is worth KSh 44.9 billion has been floated to fund the construction of the 60,000 Talanta Stadium.
President William Ruto led the bell-ringing ceremony at the NSE to signal the bonds listing and launch secondary trading at the bourse.
Ruto praised the listing as a historic deal that shows Kenya’s growing ability to fund strategic infrastructure through domestic capital markets.
"The successful origination, structuring, and listing of the Linzi 003 Infrastructure Asset-Backed Security, the first of its kind in Kenya, is a landmark achievement that affirms our confidence in market-based financing and demonstrates how we can sustainably fund large-scale infrastructure through our capital markets," Ruto said.
The bond is one of the biggest securitisation deals in East Africa and Ruto further underscored the importance of the deal as a reflection of the deepening capital markets in the country.
“Today’s listing reflects not only the deepening of our capital markets, but also the innovation and sophistication now driving financial solutions that respond to the evolving needs of both the public and private sectors. It confirms our capacity to mobilise substantial domestic capital to finance strategic national priorities, reduce our reliance on external borrowing, and strengthen Kenya’s economic resilience,” he said.
NSE chairman Kiprono Kittony also thanked the government for its support of the capital markets in the recovery journey that has been undertaken in the last two years.
Why did Ndindi Nyoro criticise the Linzi 003 bond?
In other news, Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro has sharply criticised President Ruto’s administration over the KSh 44.9 billion bond floated to finance the construction of the 60,000-seater Talanta Stadium.
Nyoro argued that the bond’s 15.04% interest rate is exorbitantly high and will see Kenyan taxpayers repay more than KSh 100 billion over 15 years.
He questioned the bond’s viability, alleging that it failed to attract adequate investor interest in the market and that the government instead compelled the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) to invest workers’ pension savings to rescue the deal.
Nyoro warned that using future revenue to fund current mega-projects is fiscally reckless, especially at a time when Kenya’s public debt burden is rising.
He said the move undermines efforts to achieve long-term financial sustainability and instead risks exposing the country to even greater fiscal pressure in the future.
Proofreading by Jackson Otukho, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
