Kenyan Traders Express Concerns Over Chinese Business Infiltration, Call for Prohibition of Permits

Kenya-Citizen Digital reports that there are concerns over the influx of Chinese nationals who are operating businesses in the country, undercutting local traders with ultra-low prices and driving them out of business.

As a result, some are calling for the prohibition of permit issuance to Chinese nationals.

The Indigenous Capital Protection Association, a group of traders, has sued the government to protest the influx of Chinese traders in Kenya.

According to Nation and Citizen Digital, the Indigenous Capital Protection Association, a group of Kenyan traders, has sued the government and wants the Immigration Services department to stop issuing employment and business permits to Chinese nationals.

The group is calling for a court order prohibiting the Director of Kenya Citizens and Foreign Nationals Management Services from issuing permits to Chinese nationals.

The traders claim that the influx of Chinese nationals encouraged and aided by the government has jeopardized their businesses, the livelihoods of over 2,000,000 Kenyans, and over six million dependents.

They also want the court to stop China Square Mall from importing and selling merchandise from Chinese manufacturers and distributors.

The court action comes after China Square Mall and over 40 other trading companies were accused of selling imported goods in Kenya at significantly lower prices than their local counterparts. The traders claim that the Competition Authority of Kenya should investigate whether the China Square Mall is engaging in predatory pricing to drive competitors out.

The traders also accuse the Investment Promotion Authority of illegally issuing investment certificates to Chinese traders and economic migrants, which they say undermines Kenya’s sustainable development and prejudices its citizens.

There is growing anti-Chinese sentiment in Kenya, partly fuelled by alleged racist incidents and perceptions of Chinese traders taking businesses and jobs from locals.

In 2019, the Kenyan authorities deported seven Chinese nationals for operating in markets in Nairobi without work permits.

In 2020, four Chinese men were deported after allegedly caning a Kenyan man working at a Chinese restaurant.