Kenya is among countries expected to feature in a new frontier-market local-currency debt index being developed by JPMorgan as the global banking giant seeks to expand its coverage of government bond markets.Kenyans.co.ke has learnt that the planned index is part of efforts to increase international investor access to local-currency government debt in frontier markets, with Kenya and Nigeria expected to be included alongside Angola and other emerging economies.Reuters reported that JPMorgan is in talks with the Angolan government over the country’s potential inclusion in the new benchmark, which could open its domestic bond market to a wider pool of foreign investors.Kenya’s expected inclusion places the country alongside other frontier markets seeking to attract international capital through their local-currency government securities.The development comes as governments across Africa explore ways of deepening domestic debt markets and attracting foreign investors to help finance public expenditure.For Kenya, the move comes against the backdrop of a large domestic government debt market, with reports suggesting that the country had nearly three times Angola’s outstanding domestic government debt at the end of 2025.Angola had 17 trillion kwanzas, equivalent to about Ksh2.4 trillion ($18.6 billion), in outstanding domestic government debt at the end of last year.Kenya’s economy is slightly larger than Angola’s but has nearly three times as much outstanding domestic government debt.JPMorgan’s planned benchmark is expected to cover local-currency debt markets in a number of frontier economies, potentially giving international investors a new avenue to compare and access their government securities.For Kenya, being featured in the index could increase the visibility of its local-currency debt among global investors, although it was not immediately clear whether Kenya’s inclusion has been formally confirmed.The development also comes as Kenya continues to rely heavily on domestic borrowing to finance government expenditure, while seeking to manage rising debt-service costs and maintain access to international capital markets.JPMorgan’s move could therefore provide another avenue for Kenya’s domestic bond market to connect with international investors as the country seeks to diversify its sources of financing.
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