LONDON, July 2 (Reuters) - Kenya is planning to

privatise some state assets via initial public offerings in

order to bring in more private sector investment, President

William Ruto said in remarks at the London Stock Exchange on

Wednesday.

The government plans to start with listing the Kenya

Pipeline Company via an IPO on the Nairobi Securities Exchange

this year, Ruto said.

"We are committed to a structured, time-sensitive programme

that identifies and prepares a robust pipeline of key government

assets to be privatised through the stock exchange or improved

through private sector participation," he said.

Ruto also said that well-functioning domestic capital

markets could reduce reliance on external debt.

Kenya has been seeking new sources of funding since deadly

nationwide protests last summer forced it to pursue austerity

measures and scrap planned tax hikes worth more than 346 billion

Kenyan shillings ($2.68 billion).

Separately, at the Africa Debate event later on Wednesday,

Ruto said that following shocks such as U.S. President Donald

Trump's elimination of USAID this year, Kenya is working to rely

on its own resources, and private investments, rather than

"resources that we do not have any control over."

He cited plans to partner with the private sector to

provide hospital equipment on a fee-per-use basis and said Kenya

had raised $1.3 billion by securitising assets such as roads to

raise funding.

"We are now going to be listing some of those bonds in

the securities exchange so other investors can have a bite of

the cherry," he said.

($1 = 128.9500 Kenyan shillings)