Business
Kenya: Little negative impact expected to economy due to Mall attack
In the last two years, investors chasing plump returns have been undeterred by frequent grenade attacks in towns close to the border with Somalia.
The government is auctioning a 12-year bond on Tuesday worth Ksh 20 billion Kenyan (US$229 million) with a fixed coupon of 11 percent. It is also expected to issue as much as US$2 billion in a Euro bond later in the year.
Analysts expected little impact on either issue, a view supported by the Kenyan shilling, which was barely changed at 87.25 against the dollar. The stock market lost just 0.3 percent.
Kenya held a very successful election earlier this year, and is also the main driver of regional integration in the five-member East African Community.
“If this is an isolated incident then the impact should be very marginal. If it’s the start of a series of related attacks, it would be another story, but that does not look very likely at the moment,” said Mark Bohlund, senior economist for sub-Saharan Africa at IHS Global Insight.
