Kenya Airways is seeking a fresh bailout of Sh1 billion from the Treasury for the upcoming financial year. The Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations of the National Assembly has recommended the bailout to partially fund the recurrent needs of the national carrier. This reduced funding aligns with the government's policy of ending bailouts for state-controlled entities in favor of restructuring. The funding is significantly lower than the previous years' injections of tens of billions of shillings. Taxpayers have already spent Sh17.4 billion in the nine months leading up to March 2024 to service a loan taken by Kenya Airways in 2017. The Treasury's guarantee covered $525 million, which was later converted to an external commercial public debt being serviced by taxpayers. The Debt and Privatisation Committee of the National Assembly has demanded that Kenya Airways submit a fresh recovery plan to wean it off state bailouts [ca7e2618].
Kenya's successful repayment of part of its $2 billion Eurobond has boosted investor confidence. President William Ruto announced that the government used $1.5 billion raised from a Eurobond buyback issue on February 12 to settle the debt. The successful execution of the buyback and the issuance of new bonds demonstrates strong investor confidence in Kenya and the government's debt management strategy. Kenya's sound debt management, economic policies, and tightening of monetary policy have contributed to increased investor confidence. The appreciation of the shilling against the dollar has also reduced Kenya's overall debt by 722 billion shillings (about $4.96 billion) and cut debt service costs by $1.33 billion over the next six years, resulting in total savings of $6.29 billion. As of the end of 2023, Kenya's total debt stood at $76.1 billion, with external debt accounting for $41.7 billion [dba938bb] [d78ed9ca].
Trimble, a global technology company, has cleared its $1 billion debt and terminated its loan agreement. The full repayment of the debt was made possible through funds received from a recent transaction. The original agreement was established on December 27, 2022, with Bank of America serving as the Administrative Agent [c834bdf8]. Trimble's debt repayment is expected to have a positive impact on its financial position. The company's market capitalization is $15.44 billion, and its Price to Earnings (P/E) ratio is 49.61. Trimble's stock has low price volatility and has experienced a strong return over the last three months. Shareholders and potential investors will continue to monitor Trimble's financial moves and market performance [c834bdf8].