Ruto confirms Kenya Pipeline to be listed on NSE this year

President William Ruto has confirmed the government is listing the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) through an initial public offering (IPO) this year.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi in February said the government was mulling the move after receiving the second cheque of the company’s Ksh.10.5 billion dividends to the exchequer in 2024.

During Wednesday's London Stock Exchange market opening ceremony in the U.K. where he is on an official trip, Ruto said KPC’s listing is among his government’s plans to widen the local stock market while opening several state corporations to foreign investment.

“We are committed to a structured, time-sensitive programme that identifies and prepares a robust pipeline of key government assets to be privatised through the stock exchange or improved through private sector participation,” the President said.

“As part of this initiative, we plan to list the Kenya Pipeline Company through an IPO in 2025, offering investors a unique opportunity to deploy capital in one of Kenya’s most strategic infrastructure enterprises.”

While announcing the plan in February, Mbadi said KPC has numerous benefits to realise from a listing at the stock exchange, citing Safaricom and the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen)’s performance since being publicly traded.

“Listing will be a good idea especially as KPC expands into the region because it will provide much-needed liquidity and capital for expansion and diversification into LPG, Kenyans will have a chance to own a piece of KPC,” the finance minister said then.

Safaricom, while not a state corporation, has significant government ownership of about 35 percent.

If listed, KPC would join KenGen, Kenya Power, and Kenya Re-Insurance Corporation (Kenya Re) among the NSE-listed state corporations.

As part of KPC’s expansion strategy, KPC is exploring the establishment of a petroleum trading hub in Mombasa to facilitate the receipt, trading, and distribution of fuel products across the region.

The corporation also seeks to wind down the Kenya Petroleum Refineries and integrate it into KPC’s operations.