Mitc to list 20 projects
Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (Mitc) will this year only compile 20 bankable projects to be presented during 2018 Malawi Investment Forum (MIF) slated for June to accommodate projects not taken up from the previous compendiums.
In 2016, the compendium had 118 bankable projects in various sectors, including energy, mining, agriculture, manufacturing, media and communications and infrastructure development.
This was a rise from 76 projects in the 2015 compendium.
During the 2016 MIF, seven companies signed memorandum of understanding (MoUs) while the one held in 2015 yielded deals and MoUs worth $1 billion (K733 billion).
Out of a total of about 193 projects listed in the Malawi Investment Compendium 2015 and 2016, only about 15 projects have taken shape, including sugar factory, upgrading of Macoha Factory, eco-tourism venture by Sunbird in Chikwawa and hostel construction.
In an interview yesterday, Mitc chief executive officer Clement Kumbemba said the one-stop investment centre will not be having another comprehensive compendium because most of the projects from previous compendiums are still available.
“We have packaged about 20 projects with better information than what we had. We are working with project promoters for those 20 good projects which are a combination of public and private and the good thing is that most of
those projects are supported by the promoters.
“Government agencies are giving us a go-ahead to market them so that they can go for them when people are expressing interests,” said Kumbemba, adding that local promoters are also at liberty to register their projects as big financiers in the region and beyond are expected to be in attendance.
Among the 20 projects, six projects are on energy and other sectors, including infrastructure, tourism and agro-processing.
Kumbemba told Business News last year that the agency is finding it hard to sell some of the projects in the compendium due to lack of proper documentation particularly on costs.
Last year, Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism Henry Mussa said the country could not hold its third MIF to pave way for an assessment and review of outstanding issues from previous forums, whose deals were yet to be concluded.
According to the 2017 Malawi Economic Report, Malawi remains one of the countries in Africa with the lowest levels of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
“This can be explained by several challenges the country is facing which can be discouraging foreign investors notably, high transportation costs, unreliable supply of water and electricity, high import duties, high corruption and unpredictable factors and product prices”.
According to Mitc figures, between 2011 and mid 2016, Malawi attracted foreign and domestic investments worth $6.5 billion (about K4.7 trillion).
A strategic plan by Mitc project the country’s investments to rise to $15 billion and increased export earnings to $4.9 billion by 2019 as well as the creation of 650 000 direct and indirect jobs.
The country has been hosting the MIF since 2015.
The next forum is scheduled for June 11 and 12 in Lilongwe.
