Taiwan-Kenya Economic Relations
Source：Bureau of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economic Affairs
Revised Date：2021-05-20
Overview of Bilateral Trade
Kenya is Taiwan’s 73rd largest trading partner and 54th largest export destination. Bilateral t rade between Kenya and Taiwan totaled US$165 million in 2020, increasing by 3.17% comp ared to 2019. In the first four months of 2021, Kenya’s exports to Taiwan amounted to US$2.
97 million, growing by 49.21% compared to 2020; while Taiwan’s exports to Kenya amount ed to US$31.3 million, declining by 13.48% year-on-year.
Kenya’s main exports to Taiwan include ore, coffee, tea leaves, steel products, life animals a nd alloy made products. Taiwan’s main exports to Kenya comprise plastics, machine and its parts, textile products, electronic machines and its parts, authentic fibers, cardboard and lathe r products.
As Taiwan’s export to Kenya only occupies less than 0.03 of Taiwan’s total export, there is g reat potential to explore more business opportunities. To strengthen Taiwan and Kenya’s bila teral economic relations, Taiwan External Trade Development Council (Taitra) and Kenya N ational Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) signed the Memorandum of Understan ding in 2017. Both sides will continuously exchange trade statistics and create business oppo rtunities by hosting trade shows, industrial seminars and business meetings.
Overview of Bilateral Investment
To take advantages of the US’s African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) that offers pre ferential tariffs to African products, Taiwanese companies invest textile industry in Kenya. T hey export apparel and garments to the US with materials such as knitted fabric or denim imp orted from Taiwan.
All Taiwanese textile companies invest in Kenyan export processing zone (EPZ) where they are entitled investment incentives such as 10 year corporate income tax holiday and 25% tax rate for a further 10 years and exempted from VAT and custom duty on imported raw materia ls.
Those Taiwanese companies include: New Wide Garments Kenya EPZ Ltd and Protex Keny a EPZ Ltd in Arthi River EPZ near Nirobi. Hantex Garments EPZ Ltd and Senior Best Garm ents Kenya EPZ Ltd in the EPZs near Mombasa.