Tatu City, the 5,000-acre Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on Nairobi’s doorstep, has signed a partnership agreement with the Kenya Guangdong General Chamber of Commerce to promote bilateral trade between Kenya and China.
The agreement, signed in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, establishes links between Guangdong’s business community and Tatu City, which provides a seamless platform for market entry for Chinese companies to Africa.
“The Kenya Guangdong General Chamber of Commerce is delighted to partner with Tatu City to support the achievement of our mission to promote economic cooperation, trade, and investment between Africa and Guangdong,” said Kin W. Xian, the chamber’s chairman.
Guangdong Province, known as the economic powerhouse of China, ranks number two in exports to Kenya and number one for imports from Kenya, according to MIT’s Observatory of Economic Complexity.
Preston Mendenhall, Country Head of Rendeavour, the owner and developer of Tatu City, said that Chinese companies are among the most active at Tatu City SEZ, the first operational in Kenya.
“We are seeing a surge in investment from highly entrepreneurial Chinese companies diversifying their global manufacturing bases to serve international clients,” Mendenhall said. “Kenya and Tatu City offer the perfect platform, with ample labor and easy access to international markets, as well as over one billion consumers on the continent.”
Last month, President William Ruto attended the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, where he signed 10 investment agreements with Chinese companies.
With more than 75 Kenyan, regional, and multi-national companies, Tatu City is Kenya’s first operational Special Economic Zone, offering low corporate taxes, import duty exemptions, zero-rated VAT, and zero withholding tax. Tatu City has world-class infrastructure, including a 24/7 water supply, more than 60 km of roads, and a power capacity of 135MVA with 99% uptime.
