KNBS launches Foreign Investment Survey to boost economic planning

ROBERT OJWANG’ AND JOSEPH OUMA-KNA 

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) is conducting the Foreign Investment Sur vey (FIS) 2024, which will run until February 2025. 

KNBS has partnered with the Kenya Investment Authority (KenIvest) and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) for this survey, which aims to gather invaluable data on the economic footprint of foreign investments. 

The insights from this data will guide strategic eco nomic planning and policy formulation to attract and retain investment within the country.

Benjamin Avusevwa, the Director of Statistical Coordination and Methods at KNBS, stated that the survey will focus on companies dealing with foreign assets and liabilities.

Avusevwa also mentioned that KNBS has contracted and trained about 48 survey personnel to interview Chief Financial Officers, Finance Directors, and Chief Accountants of approximately 1,150 companies across various industries nationwide. 

Speaking during the closing ceremony of a 10-day training for research assistants in Kisumu County, Avusevwa emphasized the survey’s importance, noting that KNBS needs to understand the flows and stocks of foreign assets and liabilities, including equities and shares. 

The event was presided over by KNBS Director General Dr. Macdonald Obudho.

“This survey is crucial because the data collected will allow us to compile Balance of Payments (BOP) and International Investment Position (IIP) statistics, along with other related statistics,” Avusevwa remarked.

The BOP and IIP, he explained, indicates the levels of debt foreign direct investment in the country.

These aggregates also offer the opportunity to establish the kind of foreign transactions that come into the country for foreign exchange stability. 

FIS 2024, he added, is the eighth edition of the survey series and targets to collect data on foreign private capital for the period 2022 and 2023 and investor perceptions on the business environment. 

According to the FIS 2023, Kenya’s stock foreign liabilities between the years 2020 and 2022 years in creased from Sh1.75 trillion to Sh2.06 trillion, which accounted for 17.9 per cent.