Kenya's green bond policy to be in place in early 2017

Kenya's green bond policy will be in place in early 2017, the capital market regulator said on Wednesday.

Capital Markets Authority (CMA) CEO Paul Muthaura told a media briefing in Nairobi that stakeholders are currently developing the policy.

"Once the policy is in place, it will allow Kenya to mobilize resources to fund projects that are environmentally sustainable," Muthaura said on the sidelines of roundtable discussions on policy proposals for the 2017/2018 budget.

Muthaura said Kenya is prioritizing the implementation of the green bonds framework because the country is a party to a number of international conventions.

Kenya has already made commitments to combat climate change under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Muthaura said the policy will contain clear guidelines on bonds that will be classified as green bonds.

The capital market regulator is consulting a number of countries in order to develop suitable guidelines.

"We are currently engaging a number jurisdictions including South Africa which is the largest green bond market in Africa so as to borrow global best practice," he said.

The regulator noted that the bonds policy will contain a number of tax incentives required to make Kenya an attractive destination for issuing green bonds. The CEO said currently revenues from infrastructure bonds are tax free.

"We want to ensure that the same treatment is extended to green bonds," he said.

According to the CMA, the green bonds policy will help make Kenya become a regional hub for green finance. Endit