Assembling Growth

　　Guo Chen， 46， is a Chinese investor in Kenya’smanufacturing industry， which represents 41 percentof the country’s GDP. Guo has worked in the country forthe last nine years， selling trucks made by China’s BeiqiFoton Motor Co. The company has already made andsold more than 10，000 units since 2010 in the Kenyanmarket. The trucks are assembled in Kenya by Foton.She is among several Chinese who work in the growingmanufacturing sector in the country.

　　“Foton also exports the completed cars to other partsof the region such as Uganda， Tanzania and Ethiopia.

　　The demand for Chinese products continues to increasein Africa， rapidly forcing other companies from the Westto close shop，” said Guo.

　　The World Bank estimates that by the end of thisyear Africa’s economic growth is targeted at 5.2 percent.

　　The bank estimates that there is a growing investmentby China in the manufacturing sector. Kenya’s currentIndustrialization Secretary， Wilson Songa， said that thereis a growing culture in Africa that Chinese products aresuperior to what comes from the West.

　　“With over 32 Chinese manufacturing companies inSub Saharan Africa last year， showing their presence，there are a lot of expectations from consumers. Forinstance， China-based Techno Mobile Phone Co. alreadyhas a factory in Nairobi. The mobile phone manufacturingcompany has already marketed its products verywell in Kenya， forcing Nokia to relocate its offices fromNairobi to South Africa as a result of increased competitionin the smart phone sector，” Songa told ChinAfrica.

　　French car maker Peugeot is among one of the companiesthat have shut down assembly plants in Kenyaas Chinese car makers such as Foton continue to makeinroads in the Kenyan market. “Major Chinese manufacturingproducts that are made and exported to othercountries around the world include cars， electronics，textiles， shoes， processed foods， medical and paperproducts. Some of the leading manufacturingAfrican countries with heavy Chinese presenceinclude South Africa， Nigeria， Mali， Senegal， Chad，Kenya， Ethiopia， Tanzania， Zambia and Burundi，”said Songa.

　　Kenya， according to the World Bank， is Africa’sninth largest economy in terms of GDP，estimated at $41.3 billion. China has alreadypledged to invest more than $6 billion in justsix years. The country’s economy has beengrowing by more than 5 percent per annumsince 2007. But the World Bank estimatesthat 19 countries in Africa are among the top 30 fastestgrowing economies in the world， among these areGhana， Ethiopia， Nigeria， Senegal and Kenya.

　　“Increase in Chinese products and their popularity，particularly mobile phones， says it all. In Kenya， mostmobile phone owners， at-least 60 percent， have a Chinesemade phone. Those figures communicate a lot tothe consumer culture in this country，” Germano Mwabu，an Economics professor from the University of Nairobi，told ChinAfrica.

　　Mwabu said as a result， land rates in urban areas suchas Nairobi have increased， as the numbers of factoriescontinue to be opened. “Yes， figures are evident. Asdemand for urban land continues to increase， the pricesof purchasing land in Nairobi’s industrial areas have goneup by as much as 50 percent. For instance， last year halfan acre of land in the prime industrial estates went forabout $12 million， now the same piece of land in thesame location goes for about $24 million，” said Mwabu.

　　He said that there is a growing culture on the continentfor the respect of Chinese people. “Many Africanshave come to love the Chinese； they have built worldclass roads and bridges around the continent. Manyargue that the West has not helped Africa as much overmany centuries， compared with the Chinese presenceof just a few decades，” Mwabu stated. Thereis also an increase in Chinese textile companies inthe country. The companies are now exportingclothes to as far as America and Europe， accordingto Kenyan government records.

　　“I do not like products from the West as I nowprefer the Chinese ones. My mobile phonefor instance is an HTC sensation. It has goodfeatures that you would not find in a Nokia oran Alcatel phone，” said Lucy Makumi， a shoevendor from Nairobi.