A motor vehicle runs on the Nairobi Expressway in Nairobi, Kenya, July 31, 2022. (Xinhua/Long Lei)

Chinese firms are playing a positive role in the socio-economic development of Kenya in terms of boosting infrastructure and manufacturing capacity development in the East African country, an economic expert says.

Chinese firms are playing a positive role in the socio-economic development of Kenya, an economic expert said Tuesday.

Judd Murigi, Head of Research at ICEA LION Asset Management, an investment management firm, said in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, that Chinese firms have played a visible role in the development of roads, railways, affordable housing units as well as other infrastructure projects.

Photo taken on May 8, 2022 shows a section of the Nairobi Expressway in Nairobi, Kenya. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui)

Murigi observed that Chinese firms have also established manufacturing facilities for the production of consumer commodities that have employed locals as well as reduced the levels of importation of goods.

"This is a positive move because it is manufacturing that will drive the economic transformation of the economy," he said during the launch of the fourth quarter 2022 investor report.

He revealed that China being an emerging market can identify unique investment opportunities in Kenya which is a frontier market.

Murigi observed that Chinese firms have achieved success in Kenya because they are flexible and appreciative of the challenges and opportunities present in Kenya, suggesting that Kenya can learn from China because the Asian nation has demonstrated how to positively transform an economy in a relatively short period.