adminNAIROBI — The International Monetary Fund trimmed its forecast for Kenya’s economic growth on Wednesday, projecting gross domestic product would expand about 6 percent next year after growing a less-than-expected 5.6 percent in 2015.
The fund, which has a mission visiting the East African country, previously estimated GDP would grow by 6.5 percent in 2015 and 6.8 percent next year.
“The growth acceleration in 2015 is slower than projected … due to delays in planned road infrastructure spending, weaker tourism receipts, and volatile external capital flows,” Vitaliy Kramarenko, the IMF head of mission to Kenya, said in a news conference.
Real GDP growth should accelerate to about 6 percent next year, he said, because of the “continuation of strong investment momentum, effects of good rain in agriculture, and a pick up in tourism following removal of travel advisories from major tourism source markets”.
At the same news conference, Henry Rotich, Kenya’s finance minister, said he estimated Kenya’s 2015 economic growth between 5.5 and 6 percent.
In November, Rotich had said this year’s growth would be in the range of 5.8 to 6.0 percent, citing tighter monetary policy and the potential effect of the El Nino weather phenomenon, which has brought heavy rains.
Meanwhile, Nigeria plans to raise 67.45 billion naira ($338.94 million) by selling Treasury bills with maturities of three and six months on December 24, the central bank said on Wednesday.
The bank said it will issue 28.12 billion naira worth of three-month paper and 39.33 billion naira of six-month, using the Dutch Auction System.— AFP.
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