Nairobi, Dec. 4 -- The government has given up Sh15.5 billion worth of future dividends from Safaricom in a rush to receive an upfront payment of Sh40.2 billion on the 20 percent stake it will retain in the company after selling part of its shares to South Africa's Vodacom Group.

It has now emerged that the National Treasury has sold the right to receive future dividends of Sh55.7 billion to Vodacom at the price of Sh40.2 billion, effectively giving the latter a discount of 27.8 percent.

The accelerated dividend payout to the government is part of the deal with the multinational, which will also buy a 15 percent stake in Safaricom from the Treasury for Sh204.3 billion or Sh34 per share through its Kenyan investment vehicle known as Voda...