Nigerian credit ratings agency Agusto & Co has received the green light from Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA) to set up operations in Nairobi, Business Daily reported. Lagos-based Agusto & Co will become the second ratings agency to start operations in Kenya after South Africa’s Global Credit Rating (GCR). According to market players, the entry of the Nigerian ratings agency into Kenya might be a sign that there is growing interest from West African investors into Kenyan debt instruments. Institutional investors prefer, and some are even required by law, to invest in securities that are rated by credit rating agencies approved by domestic regulators.
The Kenyan debt market has experienced a boom in terms of government securities in recent years, but corporate issuance has lagged behind. Only eight Kenyan companies currently have bonds, worth a total of KES 60bn (EUR 546.5mn), listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
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