NAIROBI, May 21 (Reuters) - The initial public offering (IPO) for Kenyan mobile operator Safaricom [SCOM.NR] has been over-subscribed four times in a show of investor confidence in the local economy, the finance minister said on Wednesday.

"We are very happy with the success of the Safaricom issue ... there are indications that it was oversubscribed four times," Amos Kimunya told reporters of Kenya's, and east Africa's, largest ever IPO.

(Reporting by Hereward Holland; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Helen Nyambura-Mwaura)

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