This archive report was first published on 15 January 2020.
On January 14, 2020, ICEA LION Asset Management presented its 1st quarter 2020 Investor Pulse outlook, highlighting the expected economic recovery in Kenya.
According to Judd Murigi, the firm's Head of Research, the real economy is expected to start healing this year, driven by renewed private sector credit growth and improved timeliness in payments to suppliers.
Speaking at the event, Murigi noted that in 2019, ten sectors representing 70% of GDP experienced decelerated growth compared to 2018, when only four sectors decelerated.
The sectors that grew at a slower pace in 2019 included Agriculture, Manufacturing, Construction, Trade, Hospitality, and Transport.
However, Murigi warned that the recovery in the agriculture sector faces risks from destruction caused by heavy rains in late 2019 and the ongoing locust invasion.
He also highlighted the emerging risk factor of increasing political risk, which could peg back the economic recovery not only in Kenya but across the region, due to upcoming elections in Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Burundi.
ICEA LION Asset Management's CEO, Einsten Kihanda, emphasized that the economic outlook for Kenya is certainly better this year, although the effects will probably only be felt going into the second half of the year and beyond.
