Nairobi, Jan. 10 -- Kenya's domestic borrowing now makes up half of the public debt stock after a slowdown in foreign loans on costlier external financing, reversing a trend that risks crowding out the private sector.

The Treasury data places domestic debt stock at the end of October 2022 at 50.2 percent, a five-year high, while external loans represent a paltry 49.8 percent of the total debt portfolio.

In contrast, domestic debt represented 49.2 percent of Kenya's total debt stock a year earlier in October 2021, while external debt was 50.8 percent.

During the year to October 2022, domestic debt rose at a faster rate of 10.8 percent or Sh426 billion to hit Sh4.386 trillion, while external debt rose 6.8 percent or Sh277 billion in the ...