NIC Bank has raised $57 million (Sh5 billion) from an oversubscribed bond issue as investors appetite for corporate debt in Kenya grows.

“In the process of gauging investor interest, it became apparent there was greater demand in the bond issue than the original Sh3 billion we were seeking,” Business Daily quoted John Gachora, NIC Bank group managing director as saying.

The Kenyan bank, whose stock is the best performing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) this quarter, said it has absorbed Sh5 billion out of the Sh6.5 billion it was offered, using the Sh2 billion green-shoe option.

The five-year bond, which offered a 12.5 percent fixed rate of return was issued as part of a Sh8 billion bond offer that got the approval of the Capital Market’s Authority in August. The bank also plans to raise capital through a Sh2 billion rights offer before year-end, subject to regulatory approval.

NIC Bank Group Chairman James Ndegwa had in a recent EGM announced that bank’s plan to finance business growth using capital raised through debt and equity. He called it “the right mix.”

At the close of market on Friday, NIC’s shares sold at Sh71 on the floor of the NSE.