President William Ruto is dangling a series of incentives for Chinese investors, including tax holidays, ease of repatriating profits, skilled workforce and easier immigration rules.

At a meeting with the Chinese business community in Beijing on Tuesday, the President said Kenya’s membership in African regional economic blocs, trade agreements such as the African Growth Opportunity Act (Agoa) with the US, and the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union could help Chinese exporters reach these markets with privileges similar to Kenyans.“Kenya is open for business,” President Ruto said.“We have every reason for you to invest in our country and I welcome you to come so that we can build, we can grow and witness the making of Africa’s next great success story, and we will do this together.“Kenya has also built a big footprint of markets around not [only] just our region, but also globally...

You may also wish to know that, under the Agoa arrangement, we have duty-free, quota-free access to the American market, and all this market access infrastructure is available to you in Kenya.”Agoa has helped Kenyan producers of textiles and foreign investors who produce apparael locally to export to the US under certain privileges.

But the deal is now facing a bleak future after US President Donald Trump imposed a flat tare tariff of 10 percent on a number of countries that profited from Agoa, including Kenya. Agoa is set to expire in September this year, unless Washington extends it, or replaces it.

At the investor roundtable, President Ruto also sold Kenya’s regional positioning, touting Nairobi as a gateway to neighbouring markets.“Because of the network of market access that we have built, you can access the East African Community market and the Comesa market, a community that has 26 countries and a population of 730 million people,” he said.

Seven Chinese firms signed letters of intent with the Kenya Investment Authority to invest in various sectors of the economy if certain conditions are met.

The companies could pump in $500 million if they sign investment agreements. And a lot will depend on what Kenya does to convince them.

Nairobi says it will target the Chinese market more, promising incentives on taxes, immigration and secure financial transactions.

Starting June, Kenya will conduct a five-province marketing campaign in China, seeking to sell itself as a better investment destination.

The actual regions of China are to be announced later, but one of the cities is Changsha in Hunan Province, where Kenya intends to learn and attract investors in running city transportation systems and related smart technology.

In early 2026, Kenya will invite Chinese investors to Nairobi “to showcase the opportunities here, and you can see for yourselves first-hand what these investment opportunities look like,” President Ruto said.

President Ruto is also using the visit to seek new funding for his pet projects such as housing, ICT and universal healthcare.

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