Nairobi — The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) expects the country's foreign exchange reserves to rise to about Sh2.1 trillion (nearly $16 billion) once proceeds from the government's sale of its Safaricom stake are received, boosting import cover to about seven months.

CBK Governor Kamau Thugge said the inflows will significantly strengthen Kenya's external buffers.

"We've seen the monies from the Safaricom deal yet to hit our reserves position, but it's just about to, and that will take us to almost $16 billion, representing almost seven months of import cover," Thugge said.

Earlier this month, National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi said the government expects to receive more than Sh200 billion from the sale of its 15 percent stake in Safaricom to South Africa's Vodacom Group.

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Mbadi said the proceeds will be deposited into the National Infrastructure Fund (NIF), which is held at the Central Bank of Kenya.

Following the transaction, Vodafone Kenya Limited, a subsidiary of Vodacom, increased its shareholding in Safaricom to 55 percent, while the government's stake fell to 20 percent from 35 percent. Public investors continue to hold the remaining 25 percent.

Thugge said the expected inflows will further strengthen Kenya's reserve position, which has also benefited from recent external financing.

"We got some money from the World Bank just the other day, and of course, there's also the KPC investment and the Nedbank investment in one of our banks," he added.

Last month, Kenya secured Sh97.1 billion from the World Bank to support governance reforms, strengthen public financial management and expand social protection, further boosting the country's foreign exchange reserves.