NAIROBI, Kenya — Standard Investment Bank (SIB) has valued the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) at Sh102 billion, setting the stage for one of Kenya’s largest public listings ahead of the March 31, 2026 deadline.
The valuation, revealed in a new SIB report, places KPC Sh2 billion higher than the Sh100 billion target the government expects to raise through the firm’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
In August, the National Treasury announced plans to privatise KPC by offloading a 65 per cent stake through the NSE, saying the listing route offers transparency, fair price discovery, and broader citizen ownership.
The plan was tabled in Parliament by Kilifi North MP Owen Baya through a sessional paper outlining the sale’s structure, cost, and rationale.
“Listing KPC will open up ownership of a strategic national enterprise to Kenyans while allowing the government to raise capital without imposing new taxes,” the Treasury said in its proposal.
Profitability and valuation
SIB analysts noted that KPC ended the 2024 financial year with a book value of Sh89 billion, of which Sh77 billion — or 86 per cent — was in retained earnings.
The state-owned firm posted a net profit of Sh6.9 billion, translating to a 7.7 per cent return on investment, and closed the year with Sh6.5 billion in cash reserves.
“Our back-of-the-envelope calculations, looking at the book value of similar firms in the oil and gas sector, placed the fair value estimate at Sh102 billion,” the report stated.
The investment bank added that KPC’s strong cash position could mean its intrinsic value is even higher, comparing it to “businesses like TotalEnergies, which trade above their book values due to consistent cash generation.”
Political resistance mounts
The valuation is likely to fuel ongoing debate about the true worth of KPC — a company first earmarked for privatisation in 2008 and included in the official programme a year later.
Opposition leaders have vowed to challenge the planned sale in court, accusing the government of rushing the process without adequate public consultation.
Deputy Minority Leader Robert Mbui (Kathiani MP) recently described the plan as a “daylight auction” of a key national asset.
“The fundamental question is: what is the value of KPC? Such a national asset is being given away at only Sh100 billion,” he said.
Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has also warned President William Ruto against proceeding with the deal, calling KPC a strategic asset vital to Kenya’s economic security.
“Ruto, don’t dare sell the Kenya Pipeline Company! If you attempt to fast-track the auction despite court orders, we will stop it just like we did with the Adani-JKIA project,” Kalonzo wrote on X (formerly Twitter) in August.
Even Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, a key Ruto ally, has criticised the proposal, warning that the planned listing may not attract sustainable investor confidence.
“This issue of KPC will bring a lot of excitement, but once the share capital is announced, the stock will collapse. Investors in the NSE today buy revenue, not assets,” Nyoro said.
The planned KPC sale comes just days after President Ruto signed the Privatisation Bill, 2025, paving the way for the sale of select government-owned entities — including strategic and loss-making corporations — to raise revenue and reduce dependence on public funds.
The Treasury is expected to publish a detailed privatisation roadmap before the end of the year, outlining timelines for KPC’s IPO and the expected allocation to retail investors, institutions, and strategic partners.
