Malawi attracting foreign investment
A team of 30 business delegates from India will be in Malawi to explore trade and investment opportunities, Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (MITC) chief executive officer, Clement Kumbemba disclosed on Monday.
Kumbambe told journalists in Lilongwe that the Malawi mission in India was working with the India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), in facilitating the trade and investment visit from 17th to 20th July 2013.
He said the business delegation from India will be from 15 companies interested to ply businesses in different areas such as timber, cement manufacturing, plastic production, footwear, clothing, construction, infrastructure development and mining among others.
“The other areas that these people will cover will include products such as insecticides, rice, corn flour, noodles and biscuits,” said the CEO.
He said India had been a faithful trade and investment partner in Malawi and that the coming of the 30-member team was a welcome move.
“This is evident by the number of Indians who live and do business in Malawi, a substantial number of whom invested in areas that are adding value to Malawi’s economy,” he said.
Kumbemba said a good number of these Indians had lived in Malawi for very long time and that they know Malawi more than they do their countries of origin.
He said, “It is important to note that India scores the highest as the source of foreign direct investment into Malawi.”
Representative for India High Commissioner Purushothan Kallianpur said India was optimistic that that trade between the two countries will grow stronger considering what was already on the ground in the country as regards Indian trade and investment.
He said Malawi will reach a point where it will substantially reap the benefits that originate from the trade and investment relationship with India.
“We will look at this trade and investment mission as an opportunity for Malawian local business persons to create synergies with India and for them to develop their capacity,” he said.
He added that India High Commission was encouraging local private sectors to take advantage of such trade and investment mission in order to deliberately develop their entrepreneurship, business scope and standards beyond the domestic and regional markets into the extra-regional arena.
Director for MITC, Joshua Nthakomwa, said such exposure does not only provide Malawi with opportunities but also gives insight as regards best practices that international gurus have adopted in order to become successful and sustainable business firms.
He said such deliberate exposure is what will build the country’s private sector to be better and more efficient players in the domestic and global business world.
In January 2010, another team of 20 business captains from Indian led by the country’s Vice-President, Mohammad Hamid Ansari, visited the country to explore trade and investments opportunities.
