The OEM has announced that it is abandoning its plans to build an assembly plant in Kenya, due to the threat of cheap electronic imports.
As Standard Digital reports, Samsung has given up on its plan to build an assembly plant in Kenya, dedicated to the manufacture of printers, laptops and television sets, “citing failure by Government to put in place mechanisms that would protect local manufacturers from cheap electronic imports.”
The company’s chief executive, Sung Yoon, explained that, although Kenya and the regional market “offered the firm good opportunities for growth”, due to the lack of import taxes on electronic items, “locally manufactured products would be overrun by cheap imports.”
“Building a local assembly plant depends on how the Government will protect these investments… there are many products that are coming in without paying the required duties and taxes,” said Yoon, concluding, “We do not have plans for a plant at this time.”
