Kenya: Growth target to be reviewed

KENYA would review its economic growth target for this year after it recalculated the size of the economy, a move that led to a jump in annual growth rates, its central bank governor said yesterday. Government officials put last year’s gross domestic product at $53.4 billion (R586bn) – 25 percent higher than previously stated – after updating the base year for its calculation. Growth for 2013 was revised up to 5.7 percent from 4.7 percent. The higher growth trend was confirmed when the statistics office said the economy expanded by 5.8 percent in the second quarter, up from 4.4 percent in the first three months. Last month, Treasury cabinet secretary Henry Rotich said Kenya was expected to grow by between 5.3 percent and 5.5 percent this year. The 5.8 percent expansion in the second quarter surprised many because it came about despite a slump in the tourism sector following a spate of attacks blamed on Islamists. Output from the construction, manufacturing and financial services rose during the period. The central banker also cited increased foreign direct investment in transport and energy infrastructure, declining commercial lending rates and improvement in the management of spending by new local government units – called counties. – Reuters