Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) has partnered with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and KenIvest in conducting the Foreign Investment Survey 2023
KNBS Director of Macroeconomic Statistics, Dr. Collins Omondi said the survey will be looking at companies that deal in foreign assets and liabilities
He said a survey will be conducted in the next 40 days, interviewing firms approximately 1150 firms countrywide.
Speaking in Nakuru after a 10-day training of survey personnel, Omondi said the survey is vital because they need to know the flows and stocks of foreign assets and liabilities in terms of equities and shares
“This survey is also very key when updating the balance of pay statistics, particularly the goods and services that the country transacts with the rest of the world,” he said
He observed that the research was important in arming the necessary authorities including the government on how much the country was importing as well as exporting in terms of assets and liabilities
This is the 7th survey with the last one having been conducted in 2020 which captured the transactions of 2018 and 2019.
Simon Gaitho, in charge of External Sector Statistics in the Macro-Economics Directorate at KNBS, said there is a module in the survey where researchers are asking the respondents to list the challenges in foreign investment.
“Challenges keep changing and we want to have an update, however, markets and business environment have been listed as some of the problematic areas,” he said.
He added that the level of gravity of the said challenges shall be updated once the survey is completed
He confirmed that Kenya has a good flow of foreign investment adding that according to the KNBS Economic Survey of 2022 from the international investment perspective, Kenya’s assets are less compared to its liabilities.
Gaitho added that the scenario is repeated in imports and exports where the country is buying more goods from the international market compared to selling.
Gladys Mbaluku, External Sector Statistics department of KNBS said the United States of America, European Union and China are some of the leading countries in terms of investments which include non-equity items such as debts and trade credits in Kenya.
Daniel Amanja from CBK’s Research Department said the financial institution heavily depends on the statistics from KNBS for its analysis.
He said the survey by KNBS yields quality statistics because it digs deeper into flows and mechanics of foreign investments instead of depending on aggregate numbers.
He said it was through foreign investments that employment is created and the transfer of technology is achieved.
This, he said, increases the country’s productivity and competitiveness because they are bringing in new methods of doing things.
