Raid of the continent by Chinese

By Jevans Nyabiage

Hundreds of Kenyan traders took to the streets of Nairobi on Thursday accusing Chinese dealers of peddling cheap wares, posing stiff competition to their businesses.

The hawkers, who started their demonstration from the populous Eastleigh area to the city centre, staged a sit-in at the Prime Minister’s office.

Although the Kenyan traders raise genuine concerns over the future of their businesses in an environment where Chinese traders sell their products at rock bottom prices, it is a global reality of Asia’s assault.

On a bigger picture, multinationals from emerging economies are also hungry to go global, racing to the continent for opportunities to fuel their growth.

The firms have an inherent advantage over their Western rivals. They are already familiar with growing their businesses in a high-growth, low-margin environment that is often hampered by political or infrastructural challenges.

The Africa expedition is a trend similar with nearly all BRICS, an acronym first coined a decade ago for the emerging powerhouse of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

A few years ago, South Africa was invited to join the group taking up the last S.  The countries have experienced astronomical growth and produced a new crop of firms that are slowly replacing the incumbents in the fierce battle for new markets.

China has proven to be a star among stars—establishing itself as a titan of global manufacturing and growing exports to the West almost exponentially. The firms are also likely to have substantial backing from their governments. Brazil, for instance, is heavily promoting the internationalisation of its companies.

Political heft

The firms with their willingness to use their political heft, and the burgeoning sense that the emerging world could eclipse developed markets in the coming decades, the BRICS are reshaping the global economy.

Between 2005 and 2012, the number of Fortune 500 companies from BRICS countries increased from 27 to 96. In 2005, there were 176 American firms in the Fortune 500 list. However, current data show that the number shrank to 133.