The share of yuan loans in Kenya’s external debt increased after the Treasury converted three standard gauge railway (SGR) facilities from dollars to Chinese currency, reducing the dollar’s weight in the portfolio by around Sh850 billion in a year.
Treasury data indicates that converting $3.5 billion in SGR facilities to Chinese yuan (CNY) would cut the dollar share of external debt to 44 percent-about Sh2.37 trillion-below 50 percent for the first time in 11 years.