Kenya inks Ksh.126 billion investment deal with China

Kenya has signed a multibillion-shilling agreement with China during President William Ruto’s visit to the economic powerhouse.

According to documents seen by Citizen Digital, Kenya secured over Ksh.126 billion to actualize key projects under the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).

This will see $0.32B (Ksh.41.4B) secured for manufacturing, $0.43B (Ksh.55.6B) for agriculture and $0.23B (Ksh.29.7B)

Under manufacturing, a $150 million (Ksh.19.4B) deal was given to the construction and engineering company China Wu Yi, $100 million (Ksh.12.9B) to Rongtai Steel Co. Limited, $20 million (Ksh.2.5B) to Chongqing Shangcheng Apparel Group Co., Ltd/Pengfeng Investment Ltd and $50 million (Ksh.6.4B) to Kenya Smart Transportation Industry Park/Anhui Jiubao Electronic Technology Co. Ltd.

The aforementioned investors have been running operations in Kenya, apart from Anhui Jiubao Electronic Technology which will be a first-time investor.

On agriculture, a $30 million (Ksh.3.8B) deal was handed to first-time investor Shandong Jialejia Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Technology Co., Ltd.

They have identified a 100-acre plot in Kajiado County where they plan to invest in a chicken farm with a stock of 500,000 hens, with the potential to create 500 jobs.

Another $400 million (Ksh.51.8B) will be handed to Zonken Group (Biotech Corporation Ltd & Zonken Environmental Technology Ltd), who deal with large-scale aloe cultivation, processing, with an export base in Baringo County.

They plan to undertake this on a 300-acre piece of land and have another 72 acres for an apple and grape farming project in Baringo.

On Tourism, a $230 million (Ksh.29.7B) deal was handed to Hunan Conference Exhibition Group/Huatian Hotel Management Co., also a first-time investor in Kenya.

The investor is a leading Chinese hotel investor operating many hotels in Europe and Southeast Asia.

The visit is President Ruto's third to China since assuming office in 2022.

Previous visits were in October 2023 for the Third Road and Belt Forum and in September 2024 for the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

Talks between President Ruto and his host, President Xi Jinping, will centre around China's investment in Kenya's critical infrastructural projects, strengthening of the Global South cooperation, regional peace and security, among other issues of global concern.

China has played a crucial role in delivering some of Kenya's signature infrastructure projects, among them the Standard Gauge Railway, Nairobi Expressway, Lamu Port, and the Kipevu Oil Terminal.