Kenya plans to make a "green" bond issue in the 2018/19 (July-June) fiscal year, senior government officials said on Thursday, as the country diversifies its borrowing on financial markets. The proceeds from green bonds help to finance projects in the renewable energy, energy-efficiency, green transport and wastewater treatment sectors.
Kamau Thugge, Principal Secretary at the Finance Ministry, said that with a budget deficit of about 575 billion shillings ($5.7 billion) - equal to 5.7 percent of annual gross domestic product - there was room to raise funds using green bonds for existing infrastructure projects. "It is not going to be new projects that are put into the budget," Thugge told reporters. "We would like to move as quickly as possible."