The Kenyan government has expressed concern about slow participation by ordinary citizens in the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) IPO, with only days remaining until the February 19, 2026, closing date.
In an interview on February 11, National Treasury and Economic Planning Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi urged Kenyans to participate more in the buying of the shares, as Kenyan subscriptions remain slower than expected despite strong overall interest.
Mbadi revealed that some investor categories, including international and institutional investors, are showing early oversubscription.
Govt Concerned Over KPC Shares
The IPO is designed to sell 65% of KPC, which translates to Ksh11.81 billion shares, at Ksh 9 each, aiming to raise Ksh 106.3 billion ($825 million) for government infrastructure projects in irrigation, health, education, and security.
The state retains 35% ownership after the sale.
According to Mbadi, the IPO is more than fundraising, as it seeks to spread ownership of a debt-free, highly profitable national asset worth about Ksh 163 billion.
The CS stated that the idea of buying KPC shares is a very good opportunity for Kenyans to help the country improve economically, pointing out that KPC is a debt-free company.
Mbadi stated that KPC has assets spread across the country valued at Ksh163 billion, and that the company made a profit of Ksh8.4 billion last year.
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KPC delivers steady dividends, recently Ksh10.5 billion to the Treasury in 12 months, and transports fuel across East Africa, serving landlocked neighbors.
A History to be Rewritten
Importantly, Mbadi reminded Kenyans that the privatisation of KPC is not a new idea suddenly pushed by the current administration.
He said the first official resolution to privatize the company was made in 2009 under President Mwai Kibaki, but the process stalled for more than a decade due to uncertainty and lack of political will.
He noted that the policy survived three administrations without progress, running through Kibaki’s final years and the entire Uhuru Kenyatta era, yet no action was taken even after Cabinet approval.
According to him, the current government is moving forward because the asset has outgrown state‑only management and requires private-sector participation to expand.
Mbadi stressed that Kenya can no longer afford to sit on mature public assets while the country struggles with limited budget space.
He said the state must raise money from such holdings and channel it into big public projects that Kenya has delayed for decades.
“We need the resources to put in bankable projects and commercially viable projects like irrigation, agriculture. We can do mega dams in this country and store water which will finally break the cycle of long rains causing destruction followed by severe drought,” Mbadi stated.
Selling KPC Shares as the Best Option
CS Mbadi argued that Kenya’s infrastructure ambitions cannot be financed through taxes alone, noting that taxpayers are already under strain and the government is actively lowering certain taxes.
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He stated that the state continues relying on borrowing, which has reached its limits.
He insisted that unlocking value from assets like KPC is now the only sustainable avenue to fund essential national development.
To make this possible, Mbadi pointed to the planned National Infrastructure Fund, already before the National Assembly, which will receive funds from asset sales and direct them to commercially viable projects.
“This National Infrastructure Fund will help in de-risking public investment infrastructure projects, which are commercially viable, and then we will crowd in the private-sector funds into this from institutional investors,” he said.
He added that Kenya cannot grow without expanding power generation, saying the country requires 10 million megawatts against the roughly three million megawatts it currently produces.
According to the CS, only a serious investment, supported by funds raised from mature state assets, can close that gap.
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