Chinese investors eye Kenya as new manufacturing hub

President William Ruto and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during the high-level meeting on the Belt and Road Initiative that he co-chaired at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit in Beijing. [PCS]

Chinese investors are gearing up to establish manufacturing industries worth billions of shillings in Kenya and other African countries.

Through the African Chapter of the American Chinese CEOs Society (ACCS) launched in Nairobi on Friday, the investors said they will engage Kenyan companies' executives and decision-makers as an entry point to establishing more manufacturing companies in the country.

ACCS President Robert Sun said the interest to invest in the country is informed by Kenya's over-reliance on the agriculture sector, whereas there is a huge potential for industrialisation in the country.

"Our mission is to work together with the government and local companies to bring Chinese manufacturers to Kenya for industrialisation. We find that Kenya is still an agricultural country, and it imports a lot of agricultural products. "Our target is to have Chinese industrialists who have trade connections with the United States of America because they can benefit from Kenya's treaty with America through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa)," he said.

Under Agoa, eligible Sub-Saharan African countries are provided with duty-free access to the US market for over 1,800 products, in addi[1]tion to the more than 5,000 products eligible for duty-free access under the Generalised System of Preferences programme.

Sun said discussions are underway between ACCS and government, through the Ministry of Trade, to facilitate realisation of society's development agenda in the country, which complements Chinese President Xi Jinping's undertaking.

"We have learnt that Kenya is an open forum when it comes to international investments. It offers some special treatment with regards to taxation especially around export processing zones (EPZ) and also the subject of land policy guiding the foreign investors. "Kenya has also a good accessibility to the African market given that most of the trade barriers in the African countries have been dealt with."

Last week, President William Ruto attended the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit in Beijing, China where he called on the country to scale up its cooperation with Africa by helping countries access concessional funding for development.

In response to this appeal, President Xi announced a 10-point partnership action plan for Africa that will provide Africa with Sh6.5 trillion of financial support. The plan will cover industrialisation, agriculture, trade, investment, training and infrastructure.

With more manufacturers coming on board, Kenya is expected to reduce import demand since more products will be made locally.

Data published by the Kenya Trade Network Agency in the first quarter of the 2023-24 financial year showed that Kenya imported goods and services worth Sh258.7 billion. This figure represents imports of 10 products that play a pivotal role in sustaining Kenya's multifaceted needs ranging from energy resources to agricultural staples.

ACCS director in Africa James Gitundu underscored the importance of enhancing the manufacturing sector, saying this will provide solutions to unemployment among the youth. "Through this society, we are going to empower small companies, especially those in the Jua Kali sector. This means that most of the products that Kenya imports will now be exported," he said.

The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) said the creation of a formidable business infrastructure from Chinese investors will open the global markets for locally manufactured goods.

KNCCI chairperson of Diaspora Affairs Simon Nyaga welcomed the move to partner with the Chinese companies. "We will support the organisation because it will improve the livelihood of Kenyans and Africans at large," he said.