Kenyan mortgage firm Housing Finance will sell the second tranche of its 7-year bond next month to raise 3 billion shillings, it said on Monday.The east African nation of 40 million people has a massive housing deficit with annual demand at 200,000 units per year against a supply of 50,000 units, creating opportunities for firms with the deep pockets required to fund developments.“The funds will raise (Housing Finance’s) involvement on the supply side of residential middle and lower income housing which will in turn create significant mortgage lending opportunities for the company,” the firm said in a statement.Housing Finance said that details of the bond would be unveiled at the start of the sale of the bond on October 1. The offer closes on October 12.It issued the first tranche of the bond in 2010, raising 7 billion shillings above its target of 5 billion shillings.Although Kenya’s debt market has boomed in recent years as investors searched for higher yields, corporate issuance has lagged behind government bonds, with only eight outstanding corporate bonds on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
