Browsing: China

Every month, Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway moves an average of 200 cargo trains from the coastal city of Mombasa to Nairobi’s inland container depot. With it, it moves at least 1,000 containers to Nairobi. This has left a bitter taste among residents of Mombasa, who have over the years depended on the undertakings around the port for jobs.

SGR, which has been billed as the biggest transport infrastructure project in the Kenya’s history, is expected to haul about nine million tonnes of cargo to make a profit of Sh5.08 billion a year, averaging Sh424 million per month, compared with 990,488 tonnes carried in the first year when SGR made a loss of Sh10 billion.

The SGR has so far made Sh10.9 billion from cargo and passenger business since it started operating, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics’ economic indicators report released in December 2018.

The cracks on the …

Global mobile giant Huawei has unveiled the DigiTruck project, in partnership with Belgium nonprofit organization Close the Gap, to provide digital skills training to rural and remote communities in Kenya. The DigiTruck is Huawei’s latest effort driving their digital inclusion initiative Tech4ALL.

With the rapid development of the global digital economy, the World Bank’s latest report points out that Southern Africa’s demand for digital skills in 2030 is as high as 230 million people, which is in stark contrast to the current prevailing lack of digital skills in Africa.

In Kenya, for example, despite being the ICT hub in Africa, Internet users account for less than 50% of the total population, not only because more than 75% of the population live in remote areas, lacking stable power supply, but also because many people do not realize the real value of digital skills, who have never been exposed to smartphones or …

The Japanese city of Yokohama prepares to host African leaders and business delegation during the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) will be held in Yokohama from 28th to 30th August 2019.

This is a Summit-level international conference on Africa’s development which was initiated by Japan since 1993. What is striking about TICAD is that rather than being a stage for bilateral relations between Japan and African countries, it uses a multilateral framework involving the participation of international organizations.

It is also broadly accessible to diverse stakeholders, including those from private enterprise, academia, and civil society, with the number of participants at TICAD VI held in Nairobi, Kenya exceeding 10,000. TICAD is also a place where African ownership is given serious regard.

In addition, follow-up meetings at ministerial level are held annually to enable the respective ministries to properly stay abreast of the status of ongoing projects resulting …

Less than a fortnight after a thousand visitors from the Middle East toured Tanzania, the country has just received the first batch of expected 1,000 tourists from the Far East.

Landing at the Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) on Sunday 13^th May, 2019 evening, more than 350 tourists from China kicked off their itinerary by sampling Northern Zone attractions, including the Ngorongoro crater and Serengeti National Park.

They were received at the airport terminal by the Prime Minister, Kassim Majaliwa, who described the entourage as yet another indication that Tanzania is becoming a lucrative destination for visitors and investors from overseas.

The 10,000 visitors from China will be touring Tanzania through the `Tour Africa – New Horizon` program coordinated by Touch Road International Holding Group, which in addition to opening doors for tourists from the Far East, is hatching a new initiative where some visitors are going to identify potential …

China`s economic miracle is a combination of several factors, including globalization, openness and cooperation, a prominent Chinese national stated.

Speaking during a high-level business talk in Dar es Salaam, board member, deputy secretary and member of the party committee at Moutai Group, Wang Yan, said 40 years ago, China was poorer than most African countries at present.

The business talk, which was graced by former Prime Minister, Mizengo Pinda held in Dar es Salaam, was part of the `Cultural Moutai, Colourful Guizhou` – China Kweichow Moutai Belt and Road Branding Initiative in Tanzania.`

The business talks also coincided with the launch of Moutai liquor in Tanzania.

`Africa is still developing. China`s development miracle from being the poorest country in the world to today has showcased the profound power globalization, openness and cooperation have over people`s lives……I remember vividly that over 40 years ago, the income of these families was extremely …

An uptick in diplomatic ties between Tanzania and Israel has started to bear socio-economic fruits, the Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said.

The premier who saw off 274 tourists on the Israeli Airlines plane at the Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) over the weekend, pleaded  with the visitors to serve as Tanzania`s ambassadors back home.

Over 1,000 tourists from Israel were since April 20, this year, in the northern tourism circuit to sample various attractions in Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

The first group of the tourists left on Friday night, the second, which was seen off by the Premier, flew on Saturday afternoon, the third on Saturday evening and the last on Saturday night.

Majaliwa invited members of the business community from Israel to invest in the tourism sector in the natural-resource rich Tanzania. He further asked the Israelis to consider coming back to visit Rubondo, Katavi and Ruaha …

China dominates as Kenya’s top import source globally 

Uganda is Kenya’s biggest trading partner within the East Africa Community (EAC), latest data show, with China dominating the global scene.

The Economic survey (2019) shows total trade volumes (import and exports) between Kenya and Uganda in the year 2018, were valued at Ksh111.3 billion (USD1.09 billion).

Tanzania comes in a distant second with a total trade value of Ksh47.6 billion (USD468.9 million) while Rwanda is third with Ksh19 billion (USD187.2 million).

Trade with DR Congo, South Sudan and Burundi, mainly export markets for Kenya, were valued at Ksh15.2 billion (USD149.6 million), Ksh12.9 billion (USD127.1 million) and Ksh6.6 billion (USD65.02 million) respectively.

Uganda

During the year under review, Uganda increased the value of its exports to Kenya by 17.6 per cent to close at Ksh49.4 billion (USD486.7 million), from Ksh42 billion (USD413.8 million) in 2017.

READ:Uganda keen on enhancing exports to

Loans from China closed 2018 at USD6.2 billion (Ksh 627.1 billion)

Kenya will be keen to secure additional funds from China for construction of Phase 2B of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), as the World meets for the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) in Beijing.

The forum which takes place this week is expected to attract a high number of Heads of States from Africa and across the globe, with thousands of delegates from over 100 countries.

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration is seeking a Ksh370 billion (USD 3.67 billion) loan to extend the rail project which is currently at its second phase of construction (Nairobi-Naivasha).

Phase one of the project, 472 kilometre Mombasa —Nairobi line, is currently operational having been completed and commissioned by President Kenyatta on May 31, 2017.

It was constructed by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) on a Ksh327 billion (USD3.2 billion) …

The indicator in question in this column is figure 17.6.

17.6 of what?

According to published government statistics, the median weighted average age of an East African citizen is 17.6 years old. Among the 157 million East Africans alive today there are equal numbers of people over 17.6 years old as there are people under 17.6 years old.

So how do 17.6 years as a median age compare to other locales around the world?

If the EAC were a country it would be the 13th youngest country in the world with Uganda, Burundi, and Tanzania bringing down the weighted average against the relatively older Kenya. To add perspective, the median age of both the #1 and #2 economies of the USA and China are more than twice as old at 37.8 years and 36.8 years respectively than an East African. Even more dramatic, ageing Japan has 46.5 years as median …

The Tanzanian government has pledged continued support to Chinese investments at the 2019 Tanzania-China High-level Investment and Business Environment Dialogue in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam on April 17, 2019.

The Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office responsible for Investment, Angellah Kairuki, said Chinese investment has had and will continue to play an important role in helping us reach our goal of attaining a middle-income country status by 2025.

She said as the two countries marked 55 years of diplomatic relations this year, Tanzania was committed to continuing working closely with China, particularly through mechanisms within the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation that promotes government and private investments. However, it is unavoidable that some misunderstandings may occur in the rapidly growing and wide-ranging economic relations and trade, she told the event.

“Even so, it is my sincere belief that cooperation and common development will continue to represent the …