The controversy surrounding China Square continues to get thicker by the day. Many have been made to believe that Lei Cheng is the sole owner of China Square. It appears he is not and he only owns one percent of the company and the business.
The company registry shows that Lei Cheng owns one percent. The store is owned by a company called Fujian Fester. The remaining 99 percent of the business is owned by two Chinese nationals; Lian Feng with 60 percent and Chen Xiugua who owns 40 percent.
Fujian Fester was registered as a Kenyan company on July 25, 2022. Under Fujian Fester, China Square Limited was registered on August 19, 2022, and proceeded to rent space at Unicity Mall with Kenyatta University and set up a China Square supermarket.
China Square has since shut down, sending at least 500 employees home. The closure came after a massive push from Trade CS Moses Kuria who said the business was a threat to both local investors and local small traders in places such as Gikomba.
Moses Kuria accused the owners of the business of selling goods cheaply to Kenyans hence disadvantaging others businesses in Kenya whose prices are fairly high. Kuria’s accusations have received a backlash from Kenyans who read a hidden motive in the push.
During the week, Anti-Counterfeit Authority raided China Square and went away with goods worth 50 million shillings to “carry out investigations into intellectual property claims.” Many Kenyans feel the business is being targeted because it is owned by the Chinese.
Given the greed of the Kenyan politicians, the push might be to get China Square out or force a local powerful person to own shares within the company to tap into the massive profits. China Square was making at least 20 million shillings per day.
What is the real reason behind the government pushing for China Square to leave?
