Kenyan and British authorities are working together to nab criminal networks in East Africa and beyond, especially those at the Port of Mombasa using the facility as a conduit for illicit trade. The two governments are rooting out illicit trade at the gateway to East Africa and safeguard a level playing field for legitimate businesses. In a joint statement from Commissioner-General of the Kenya Revenue Authority, Director of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and Managing Director of the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), the agencies said they would continue collaborating with international partners in detecting, disrupting and deterring all forms of illicit trade at the Port of Mombasa. The multi-agency security team working at the Port of Mombasa has disrupted an international criminal syndicate that has been smuggling into the country vehicles stolen overseas through an intensified surveillance and enforcement measures at all ports of entry and exits. The coordination between these agencies has led to the seizure of illicit goods including 21 high-end motor vehicles that the syndicate had stolen from the UK and attempted to sneak into the country through the port. Intelligence shared among the agencies indicated that the four vehicles estimated to be worth Sh40 million had been stolen from Berkshire, London, and Oxfordshire in UK between November 11, 2018 and February 7, this year and shipped into the country. “The vehicles, were meant for sale in the East African market. The Kenyan authorities involved in the interception of the goods says the vehicles had been declared...

Kenya’s new Sh350 million world-class cruise ship terminal will be commissioned next month during the tourist arrivals peak season when luxury ships are expected to dock at Mombasa port. The terminal is expected to create 300 jobs directly, boosting local industries such as the transport sector, hotels, food providers and curio sellers. In an interview last week, Tourism and Wildlife Secretary Najib Balala, said the completion of the terminal —which is being constructed using a Sh250 million funding from the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and another Sh100 million from Trade Mark East Africa (TMA) — will give a much-needed lift to the sector’s fortunes. Industry players are now gearing up for the cruise ship peak season which is set to bring good tidings to the country as the construction of the cruise terminal at the port currently stands at 95 percent complete. On Sunday, the Port of Mombasa received MS Albatros, the first cruise vessel for the season carrying 446 passengers and 346 crew members. It was sailing from Zanzibar. While in Mombasa, the tourists toured the city, Maasai Mara, Tsavo National Park and Shimba hills. The new terminal includes duty -free shops, restaurants, conference facilities and offices for key stakeholders in the industry. The practical handover expected to take place in the next two weeks. The completion comes in time for the cruise tourism during the festive December period. “We are pleased to have this call from Ms Albatros; it is the first passenger cruise ship of 2019 docking...

With the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) set to officially start operating from July next year, there is need for concerted efforts to enlarge the group of State parties under the agreement in excess of the current 28 countries that have so far deposited instruments of ratification. Enlarging the group will see the continent creating a much bigger market that will ensure intra-African trade delivers, in particular by contributing to the continent's industrialisation and structural transformation processes thereby creating more job opportunities and reducing poverty along the way. This was said Tuesday by Stephen Karingi, Director of the ECA's Regional Integration and Trade Division, at the ongoing 23rd Meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts (ICSOE) for Eastern Africa in Asmara, Eritrea. "To operationalize the AfCFTA, we need to finalize the remaining critical components like goods schedules and rules of origin. We also need to enlarge the group of State parties and to create institutions, establish operative mechanisms, and introduce obligations into law and regulation to effectively implement the AfCFTA," said Mr. Karingi. He said Africa also needs to take complementary measures to maximize benefits, in particular following AfCFTA national strategies; conclude Phase II negotiations, especially competition policy, intellectual property rights, and investment, and use the AfCFTA as a vehicle for achieving the African single market. Mr. Karingi said following the implementation of the AfCFTA, based on the sole reduction of tariffs on goods, Africa's GDP would increase under all scenarios. In preparation for July 2020,...

The east Africa region, the fastest growing sub region on African continent, needs to implement the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement to create jobs for 8.5 million youth in the sub region entering the job markets every year. “The struggles that we see today in terms of achieving growth and creating jobs for our youth could be something of the past if we actually work together to exploits the benefits of the free trade area agreement,” said Vera Songwe, UNECA Executive Director of UNECA. She made the statement this morning in Asmara, Eritrea addressing the 23rd meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts (ICSOE). “We know because of the analysis that we do at the UNECA that the African Continental Free Trade agreement stands to deliver about $1.8 billion worth of additional revenue to the continent ad can create about 2 million jobs a year,” she said. The experts are gathered from the 14 countries found in the east Africa sub region namely, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Madagascar, Tanzania, Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Rwanda, Seychelles and Somalia. The fastest growing The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) predicts that East Africa sub region will grow at 6.5% by 2020. “This is the fastest sub-region on the continent [Africa]. Today this east Africa region is growing at 6.4%. We expect it to grow at 6.5% by 2020. The overall continent is growing at only 3.4%,” she said, in her...

The Inter African Coffee Organisation (IACO) has joined forces with the Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI) and the International Coffee Organization (ICO) to launch the Ksh.95 billion ($950 million) ‘Africa Coffee Facility’ (ACF) to boost Africa’s coffee industry and achieve a 40 percent increase in high-quality exports worth $5 billion a year. The ACF is projected to transform Africa’s coffee production – currently 10 percent of the global coffee market – into a vibrant and resilient industry again. Coffee is a primary source of income for more than 12 million households in Africa and contributes a significant proportion of tax income in a number of these countries. The largest annual export value of African countries is recorded by Ethiopia at $762.8m annually, followed by Uganda ($468.4m), Kenya ($229.5m) and Tanzania ($129.2m). Speaking at the event, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri said, “We need to build the capacity of our smallholder producers as well as revamp our producer organizations, empower women and the youth through entrepreneurship development. This includes a value chain transformation from a subsistence to an entrepreneurial orientation among our farmers.” This year the Government of Kenya allocated 3 billion Kenya Shillings (equivalent to USD 30 million) towards supporting coffee producers. Dr. Fred Kawuma, Secretary General of the IACO, said, “Africa produces some of the highest-quality and much-loved coffee in the world but its contribution to the global coffee trade has declined significantly since the 1970s when nearly a third of all coffee was produced on the continent.”...

Tourism may be international or within the traveler's country. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity only", as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure and not less than 24 hours, business and other purposes". Tourism can be domestic or international, and international tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a country's balance of payments. Tourism suffered as a result of a strong economic slowdown of the late-2000s recession, between the second half of 2008 and the end of 2009, and the outbreak of the H1N1 influenza virus, but slowly recovered. International tourism receipts (the travel item in the balance of payments) grew to US$1.03 trillion (€740 billion) in 2005, corresponding to an increase in real terms of 3.8 pc from 2010. International tourist arrivals surpassed the milestone of 1 billion tourists globally for the first time in 2012, emerging markets such as China, Russia, and Brazil had significantly increased their spending over the previous decade. The ITB Berlin is the world's leading tourism trade fair. Global tourism accounts for ca. 8 pc of global greenhouse gas emissions. The word tourist was used in 1772 and tourism in 1811.[12] It is formed from the word tour, which is derived from Old English turian, from Old French torner, from Latin tornare; 'to turn on a lathe,' which is itself from...

Keep abreast of significant corporate, financial and political developments around the world. Stay informed and spot emerging risks and opportunities with independent global reporting, expert commentary and analysis you can trust. Source: Financial Times

American officials, accompanied by business tycoons, will jet into Nairobi today to start a packed two-day meeting with government and private sector leaders in hunt for trade and investment deals in Kenya. The US delegation led by Deputy US Trade Representative C.J. Mahoney is expected to scout for business opportunities in East Africa’s largest economy where Chinese influence has been rising rapidly. The American officials will attend the two-day American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) Business Summit 2019 at the UN Complex, Gigiri. Kenyan businessmen and State officials led by President Uhuru Kenyatta will also attend. “The summit will enable participants to identify and leverage opportunities for increased trade and investment between the US, Kenya and the East Africa region by presenting a unique opportunity for both private and public sector players,” said a brief from the organisers ahead of the meeting. “The summit, now in its second year, is held in partnership with the Kenya and US governments as well as the US Chamber of Commerce, bringing together American, Kenyan and East African business executives, international investors, senior government officials and multilateral stakeholders.” The meeting comes at a time a new report shows US firms beat China in investments in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Ethiopia — with an outlay of Sh803.4 billion ($7.8 billion) between 2014 and 2018. The Ernst & Young (EY) Attractiveness Survey 2019 showed the cash invested by US companies was Sh113.3 billion, or 14.10 percent, more than $6.7 billion (Sh690.1 billion) by Chinese firms, according...

Kenya and the US are committed to developing bilateral relations, contributing to the deepening in trade, cooperation and investment for the two countries. Constance Hamilton, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative  for Africa said because the African markets are dynamic and evolving, “Our vision is to establish a Free Trade Agreement with an African partner to enhance value-added exports and create a positive trade dynamic in the region.” She said the US  is transitioning to a modern free trade agreement with African partners aligned with its long term growth prospects. Speaking at the second edition of the Amcham Business Summit 2019, a strategic platform to facilitate trade between the US and East Africa,  with themed ‘Partnering for prosperity’, Brionne Dawson, Senior Director, East and Southern Africa further reiterated that “Although East Africa has been one of the fastest-growing regions economically,  trade between the US and East Africa is still limited. We hope that the ongoing negotiations between representatives of the US and Kenya continue to drive progress in Trade.” President Uhuru Kenyatta said in his opening statement that, “The private sector will be key to developing our continued partnerships with the United States. Last year, through a working group, Kenya and the US developed a strategic partnership which gives us some privileges in trading with the US.” He added, “We have made steady progress in improving our business environment. This reflects the deliberate actions we have taken to promote development. Through enhancing security and infrastructure.” President Kenyatta said his Government strives to uphold good business practices...

Burundi has joined a group of nine African countries at a high risk of debt distress while Kenya’s risk of default has increased to moderate from low. This has seen the International Monetary Fund raise a red flag over the rate at which East African countries are accumulating debt. The region’s economies have fallen into a financial fix as they attempt to fund persistent budget deficits and implement mega infrastructure projects against a backdrop of declining revenue collection. As a result, the economies have resorted to massive borrowing, both from the domestic and international markets to quench their loan appetite, with fears that the increasing uptake of commercial loans could push most of them into debt distress. “An over-reliance on commercial public debt exposes sovereign balance sheets to greater rollover and exchange rate risks. Also, an increase in debt from domestic creditors could crowd out financing for private sector projects,” said the IMF. So far Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are among the top 50 countries in the world that are highly indebted to China, according to US-based research firm Brookings Institution. According to Brookings, countries are now shifting away from official multilateral creditors who come with stringent conditions to non-concessional, (commercial) debt with relatively higher interest rates and lower maturities. But this trend is raising concerns around debt sustainability given the possibility of higher refinancing risks and foreign exchange risks. The IMF, in its regional economic outlook report for sub-Saharan Africa released last week, says that surging public debt-to-GDP ratios...