SAMSUNG: TAX INCENTIVES PREREQUISITE FOR NAIROBI ASSEMBLY PLANT

Tax incentives needed as prerequisite for setting up Samsung assembly plant in Kenya

Korean electronics firm Samsung, has requested for tax concessions and safeguards against counterfeit imports as a prerequisite for opening its assembly plant in Kenya.

The president Samsung electronics Africa, Sung Yoon on Monday said state incentives in form of tax benefits and blockage against the influx of fake phones and electronics would enable the company to set up a local production factory cost-effectively.

While briefing journalists in Nairobi on the electronic giant’s 2018 market strategy for Kenya, he said building a local assembly depends on how the government protects those factories.

The electronics company in 2013 announced plans to open a television, laptop and printers’ assembly plant, a move that would position Nairobi as the nerve centre of its operations in East Africa.

According to local Samsung officials, the plant is expected to employ 900 people directly and more than 1,000 in its supply and marketing chains besides enhancing the transfer of knowledge.

Currently Samsung serves Kenya and the larger East African market through shipment of finished electronic products, including laptops, refrigerators, television sets and printers, establishing the assembly plant now would mean Samsung shipping in knocked down kits for assembly – increasing the efficiency of its supply chain and possibly cutting the cost of its products.

There are also plans to beef up local talent base and increase partnerships with local distributors as to drives sales, also  the company would beef up its service centres across Kenya to provide after-sales services to customers and ward off stiff competition from Asian rivals who include LG, Huawei, Tecno, Asus, Sony, Lenovo, ZTE, Panasonic and Toshiba.