Kenya’s forex reserves decline amid foreign debt repayments, particularly to China

Kenya’s foreign exchange reserves have experienced a significant drop of USD 487 million (about KES 63.9 billion) over the past week, following substantial repayments of external debt. An English-language daily business newspaper published in Kenya, Business Daily, reported that this decline has reduced the resources critical for supporting the local currency. The decrease in reserves follows the government’s repayment of USD 533 million (about KES 70 billion) in external loans, which includes USD 433 million (KES 56.8 billion) used to service a loan from China.