PCL eyes fertiliser manufacturing plant
Press Corporation Limited plc (PCL) says it is planning to invest in fertiliser production and agro-processing plant to help establish backward linages through agriculture.
PCL chief executive officer Ronald Mangani said in an interview on Tuesday that this is in line with the Malawi Stock Exchange-listed firm’s strategic plan which runs from 2024 to 2028.
He said, among other scoping investments, the firm is also looking at soya milk production, mining and tourism.
Said Mangani: “We have made significant progress on scoping projects. We want to play a meaningful role in contributing to agriculture and this is something we are looking at critically.
“We are already collaborating with cooperatives in mega farms projects. We are also seriously looking at possibility of meaningful opportunities in tourism.”
Mangani said plans to set up $50 million (about K88 billion) 50 megawatt solar power plant at Nkhoma in Lilongwe, which will be run by its new entity Press Energy, have advanced.
He said they expect to finalise the setting up of the plant by the end of this year and operations are expected to start in 2025.
However, he decried the challenging macro-economic environment, which has made access to finance costly.
Said Mangani: “Interest rates on the domestic market are high in excess of 30 percent and because we are talking of investments that would earn a return of 30 percent plus, that is not easy.
“Foreign capital is also difficult to raise not necessary because of interest payment, but because of cost of servicing debt which requires that you have access to forex.”
He said it is difficult to finance projects through foreign capital because of service obligations which become severe when there is currency depreciation.
One of the shareholders, Brian Kampanje, urged the firm to ensure that they work on the strategies to turn the conglomerate o its old glory.
On his part, Reserve Bank of Malawi Governor Wilson Banda urged PCL to invest beyond megafarms, advising the firm to venture into value addition and manufacturing, among others.
Published financial results show that the firm, which has interests in banking and telecommunications, among others, posted a K75 billion profit for the year ended December 31 2023, a 107 percent jump from the K36 billion recorded in 2022.
