Kenya signs MOU with Qatar on the establishment of Nairobi International Finance Centre

Kenya: The Government of Kenya and the Government of the State of Qatar has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the establishment of the Nairobi International Finance Centre (NFIC). 

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury Hon. Henry Rotich and the Minister for Finance of the State of Qatar, His Excellency Ali Sheriff Al Emadi on Tuesday, 14th April, 2015 on the sidelines of the launching of the Chinese Renminbi Clearing Centre in Doha, Qatar.

The Renminbi Clearing Centre is the first clearing Centre in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and will offer RMB Clearing and Settlement.

The signing of the MOU with Qatar is to help support the establishment of the NFIC and may also lead to the eventual establishment of a Renminbi Clearing Centre in Nairobi.  The Governor of the Central Bank of Qatar who is also the Chairman of the Qatar Financial Authority Centre has provided Technical Assistance to support the establishment of Nairobi International Financial Centre (NIFC).  The team of experts from Qatar Financial Authority has been working with officials of the National Treasury since 2012 towards the realization of NIFC which is one of the flagship projects of Vision 2030.  The NIFC is expected to be launched in the coming months.

Qatar has helped NIFC in policy, legal and regulatory framework of the Centre.

Present during the signing of the MOU were Dr. Geoffrey Mwau, Director – General Economic Affairs, Ambassador Galma Boru, Kenya’s Ambassador to the State of Qatar, Mr. Oscar Njuguna of the Qatar Financial Centre and officials of the National Treasury.

The Cabinet Secretary also met with the Chairman of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Mr. Jiang Jianging.  During the meeting that followed, the two discussed various matters of Co-operation between Kenya and the ICBC.  The Cabinet Secretary informed Mr. Jianging of the priority projects in Kenya that require funding.  These include:-

Infrastructure Development, Energy Sector,  Development of Low Cost Housing, Expansion of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and the Mombasa-Nairobi Oil Pipeline.

The Cabinet Secretary further informed Mr. Jianging that Kenya is the hub for Financial Services in the East African region and invited the ICBC to work with Kenya in the development of the NIFC.

Mr. Jianging informed Hon. Henry Rotich that ICBC is the largest Bank in China with about 400 Million customers and 5 million Corporate customers with assets worth 3.3 trillion US dollars.  In 2014, the bank earned a profit of 45 billion US dollars after tax, and that the Bank being the largest Commercial Bank in China and really in the World in terms of assets and capitalization is in a strong position to support Kenya’s economic development.  At the moment, the Chinese

Bank is engaged in Africa through a 20% Shareholding in Stanbic Bank after it acquired the 20% stake at US$5 billion few years ago.

Hon. Henry Rotich agreed with Chairman Jiang that the exchange ideas on how to move the Co-operation further especially as regards forms of guarantee for any funding of the Project in terms of financing for public private projects and how the Bank will help in relocating some industrial production from China to Kenya.  The Chairman promised that he may include Kenya in the Business trip by leading Chinese Investors scheduled for South Africa in September, 2015.