Nairobi — British Virgin Islands firm Kingsbourne Assets Limited (KAL) will start making photocopy papers in Kenya after the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) approved a joint venture (JV) with Amstel Trading Company Limited.
In the deal, the JV will establish a paper-converting facility in Kenya to manufacture photocopy paper, slashing delivery time of the products in the market.
Amstel is also set to expand the distribution of photocopy paper into the East African Community.
KAL is an investment holding company that owns a range of technology, expertise, and intellectual property rights related to manufacturing, conversion, supplying, and sales of pulp and paper products in Indonesia, through its affiliates. It has no operations in Kenya, however.
On the other hand, Amstel is incorporated in Kenya and imports photocopy paper into the Kenyan market for sale from paper mills in Indonesia and Kingsbourne Assets Limited's affiliates.
"JVs typically spur economic growth as a result of increased productivity and access to new markets. This ensures enhanced availability of goods and services, in terms of prices and choice," CAK announced in a statement.
The regulator added that it okayed the deal as it was unlikely to negatively impact competition in the market.
"During merger analysis, and in order to determine the impact that a transaction will have on competition, the Authority identifies the relevant product market as well as the relevant geographic market," CAK continued in the statement.
"The relevant product market comprises products/services that are interchangeable or substitutable by the consumer due to their characteristics, prices and/or intended use. Based on this criterion, the relevant product market for the proposed transaction is the market for for the provision of printing and photocopy papers."
In the country, the photocopy paper market is a large industry dominated by a number of suppliers and distributors who mostly import the papers from Asian countries for local resale to stationers.
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Some of the merchants are International Paper & Board Supplies Ltd., The Paper House of Kenya Ltd., Transpaper Kenya, Tronik Kenya, Officemart Ltd., Plannettech, and Direct Office Technology, among others.
Some popular photocopy paper brands are JK Copier, Paperline, A-ONE, Spectra, Ultima, and Sappi, among others.
According to the 2023 Economic Survey, the value of imported paper into the Kenyan market was Sh49.3 billion, which translates to 12.33 percent and 2.7 percent market share for KAL and Amstel, respectively.
