Search Results for: Kenya

WHILE international clothing buyers today have a lot of sourcing choices, this multiplicity of options can bring its own management headaches, making it important that brands make subtle, complex and fluid purchasing decisions to keep ahead of the competition, Global research firm McKinsey’s biannual sourcing survey – last published in 2015 – of chief procurement officers (CPOs) at leading apparel companies is an interesting window onto today’s complex sourcing landscape.…

Regardless of the debate about whether China is losing its shine as a clothing source, brands will always be looking for a competitive edge in new manufacturing hubs.

Myanmar’s low wage garments sector, for instance, is poised for rapid growth. The country’s first democratically elected government in 50 years is set to assume power in April and several reforms have already been made to bolster the country’s appeal as a sourcing destination for international clothing brands.…

EUROPEAN confectionery manufacturers have urged caution over the impending end of food export subsidies, which will be scrapped after a World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting in Nairobi, Kenya. Developed country members have promised to remove export subsidies immediately for basic food products, with a slower phase-out for many processed foods.…

An unprecedented spike in rhino poaching has not only threatened the existence of the charismatic species but also shone a spotlight on the highly organised criminal networks responsible. Wildlife crime is no longer seen as victimless or offering little reward but authorities are fighting back with some innovative tactics, reports Mark Rowe. …

China pharmaceutical industry investors want to help sub-Saharan African countries meet growing domestic demand for medicine in return for tax breaks and private-public partnership initiatives. But there are difficulties – including product quality and standards issues that impede the flow of Chinese Yuan into African pharma production.…

A UK court has fined British printing company Smith & Ouzman Ltd GBP2.2 million over corruption offences involving contracts for security documents, such as ballot papers and exam certificates, in Kenya and Mauritania. The fines, handed down in a January 8, sentencing hearing at Southwark Crown Court, follow a four-year investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into a total GBP395,074 in corrupt payments to public officials for the contracts.…

FOOD and drink export subsidies are to be scrapped after a World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, agreed to phase out these trade sweeteners. Developed country members have promised to remove export subsidies immediately for basic food products, with a slower phase-out for many processed foods and drinks, pigmeat and dairy products.…

THE NEED for sub-Saharan Africa to improve its corporate governance, promoting sustainable development in a region that still trails the rest of the world in many poverty metrics, has been a key theme of accounting conferences. And new initiatives reflecting this understanding have been making progress in east and west Africa, for instance.…

THE GLOBAL paint and coatings sector is looking closely at sub-Saharan Africa as an emerging market, which attracted USD56.3 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2014. And as the region’s richest and most diversified economy, the United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD) has noted, South Africa was Africa’s leading FDI recipient in 2013, with a figure that had more than doubled year-on-year to top USD10 billion.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission may block or impose conditions on a planned acquisition by US-based Cargill of the industrial chocolate business of its American rival Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). The European Union (EU) executive’s directorate general for competition has opened an in-depth investigation into the deal, to assess whether it could damage the availability of reasonably priced supplies of this key confectionery input.…