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Investments, Trade and Industry Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria wants the now popular China Square on Thika Road to exit the Kenyan market.
Through Twitter on Friday night, Kuria said he has made an offer to buy out the lease for the Chinese retailer whose shop is located at the Unicity Mall built by Kenyatta University.
“I have today given an offer to Prof. Wainaina the VC Kenyatta University to buy out the lease for China Square, Unicity Mall and hand it over to the Gikomba, Nyamakima, Muthurwa l and Eastleigh Traders Association,” Kuria noted.
He added: “We welcome Chinese investors to Kenya but as manufacturers not traders.”
China Square, a one-stop mall that opened to the public in January, has attracted a mass of shoppers due to the relatively low prices of its goods and products.
The new hub has stocked a wide range of products including stationery, furniture, home decoration items, cleaning supplies, hardware store, and electrical appliances, among others.
"I saw China Square in Tiktok. Everyone seemed to be reposting those videos. I was curious to understand what this place was all about, where it was and the prices. All I can say is, I'm not disappointed," Shamim Mohammed, a shopper said on social media.
But some Kenyans have raised concerns that China Square may push local small-scale traders out of business.
"Just as I was readying for the Business Bay Square (BBS), Eastleigh Mall, boom, China Square is popping out. Will Gikomba survive this? How will the CBD shops or other small shops sustain it?" a social media user posed.
Comments
Moses Kuria is a disaster. He needs to go.
This Kenya Kwanza is a huge mistake. They need to go. All of them.
Chinese Store will definitely level up the hiked up price of commodities which in return good for the consumers.....Kuria needs to relax his paid-political nerves
The same way dictator Moi encouraged Walias/Somalis to invade and occupy Eastleigh in the early 90's, unfortunately to frustrate the opposition Kikuyus in the business industry, is the same way China Square will change the Kenyan business landscape. Look at Eastleigh of today, if you had a chance to see it before 1990. Bure kabisa. it could be good, or bad.
This is all politics. What does Kuria understand by competitive markets? If the China man is making profits selling cheap, why do our traders want to kill us with exorbitant prices? No one wants the poor to get fair treatment, Kuria is not alone in this! Stop cheap politics Gatundu man!
This just shows the greed of some of these so called traders .I do not know what he is selling but if his prices are better than Gikomba and his items are new well let customers buy.If it is the same low quality Chinese junk sold over here that does not even last why hike prices for Kenyans.This is a new business opened in 2023 and he collected over 10 million in sales in January a difficult month for retail everywhere.Those saying that there is no money in Kenya are sorely mistaken .Pesa bado iko hata kama ni ya haramu au kufuliza.
Chinese biz man or a spy from China communist party out to conquer Africa. China don't play on level playing field. They do unconventional stuff to crush others then after putting every one out of biz will hike prices. They did with tilapia dumping. They imported one foot shoes in Mombasa then port auctioned them and same China guy paid peanuts for his stuff instead of taxes.
I find some comments here and wonder are these people commenting in the Us or where are they? Did the leave their brains somewhere else. Every country needs to protect its citizens. And this is what Kuria is trying to do.
Yes, he's trying to but foolishly publicly probably trying to be Kikuyu kingpin post Ruto. I don't trust China anytime. The guy could be sponsored by China Govt
Preposterous! Racism!
Bad decision! Let the Chinese square thrive, the diversity in trade will help push healthy competition!