NAIROBI, Oct 2 (Reuters) – Kenya’s government has picked Citi and South Africa’s Standard Group to advise it on how to handle a $2 billion Eurobond that is maturing in June 2024, a senior finance ministry official said on Monday.

The East African nation needs to repay or refinance the 10-year bond at a time when a surge in yields has effectively locked many frontier economies out of the market.

Its debt load and weakening shilling currency KES= has also fuelled concerns about the maturing bond. Kenya’s total public debt was 67.4% of gross domestic product at the end of last year, according to World Bank figures.

Finance Minister Njuguna Ndung’u has sought to downplay the situation, saying it is not a “big deal”.

Citi and Standard will help the Kenyan government deal with the maturity, Haron Sirima, the director of debt management at the Treasury told Reuters, without providing more details.

(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Jon Boyle)