The Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) is among 11 state corporations the government has lined up for privatisation.

KICC, an iconic landmark is wholly owned by the government and was established by Tourism Act, 2011.

The convention centre boasts of being the leading facility in the meetings industry in East Africa and has held a number of regional and international conferences.

The government indicated that KICC is “required to be incorporated into a limited company.”

Other corporations to be sold are Kenya Literature Bureau, National Oil Corporation, Kenya Seed Company Limited, Mwea Rice Mills, Western Kenya Rice Mills Limited, Kenya Pipeline Company, New Kenya Cooperative Creameries, Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers Limited, Rivatex East Africa Limited and Numerical Machining Complex.

The government revealed that one of the reasons it was selling the Kenya Literature Bureau and KICC was because the two parastatals needed to be incorporated into limited companies.

On the other hand, National Oil Company is being privatised largely because of poor financial performance.

The government is also looking to dispense with the corporation because of negative working capital and low liquidity.

Kenya Seed Company was identified as a profitable and mature industry that was ready to be sold to the private sector.

President William Ruto said on Thursday the government was poised to privatise 35 state companies after enacting a law last month to guide the process.

Kenya last privatised a state-owned company in 2008 with an initial public offering for 25 per cent of the shares in telecommunications firm Safaricom.

"We have identified the first 35 companies that we are going to offer to the private sector. We have another close to 100 we are working with financial advisers on what to do," Ruto said when opening the ceremony African Stock Exchanges Association's annual meeting in Nairobi.

Kenya is currently facing acute liquidity challenges, driven by uncertainty surrounding its capacity to secure funding from financial markets ahead of the maturity of a $2 billion Eurobond in June 2024.

Ruto had said Kenya will repay $300 million of its $2 billion Eurobond in December, ahead of its June maturity date.

The decision comes after Kenya explored funding options, including seeking support from multilateral lenders such as the IMF and World Bank, and considering syndicated loans to facilitate the repayment.