Sign long-term deals, Chinese firms urged
Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Liu Xianfa during a past press conference. FILE PHOTO | PHOEBE OKALL |
What you need to know:
- Chamber asks firms to partner with Kenyans to penetrate the local market even more.
Chinese firms have been urged to adopt long-term strategies and engage the local workforce and partnerships if they are to gain greater acceptance in the Kenyan market.
Guangdong Chamber of Commerce in Kenya Chairman Liu Yanmei told a private sector delegation from Foshan city in central Guangdong province, visiting Nairobi to go for the long haul.
“Short-sighted prospects have failed so you need to think long-term, and you have to fit in with the local people. In Guangdong, Peugeot was unfriendly with the locals and was not successful but when Honda came, their attitude helped them; they respected the locals and fit in and were very successful,” said Mr Liu.
A Chinese delegation led by the governor of Guangdong People’s Province, Mr Zhu Xiao Dan, and Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, Dr Liu Xianfa, accompanied by over 24 Chinese businessmen, led a side conference on the heels of the Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (Ticad VI) that ended last week.
During the event, the businessmen held a match-making side conference with Kenyan companies to set up partnerships and increase investments.
“We are moving beyond trade and are targeting investments such as setting up factories as well as partnerships, we have a presence here but we want to scale it up for more business,” Mombasa-based Hong Kong Building Centre Managing Director Feng Hui said.
Mr Feng said the firms will be targeting local businesses to link up value chains in manufacturing, machinery, furniture, building materials, steel and prefabricated products.
TRADE IMBALANCE
Chinese imports to Kenya have been rising over the years, hitting Sh248 billion in 2014 against a figure of Sh6 billion in exports, leaving a substantive trade imbalance.
“To mitigate this, we propose carrying out market studies, organising trade fairs and exhibitions to facilitate entry of new products and also bilateral trade negotiations to bring down some of the entry barriers such as non-tariffs among others,” KenInvest, Investment Promotion General Manager, Puis Rotich said.
Mr Rotich said the lobby also wants to sign an MoU between Kenya and Peoples Republic of China Investment Promotion Agencies to fast-track facilitation of private investments.
