ByEdwinNyirongo
MalawianPresidentPeterMutharikadeliversthekeynoteaddressattheMalawi-ChinaInvestmentForuminLilongweonJune21STANLEYMAKUTIAssessedasoneofthepoorestcountriesintheworldbytheWorldBankin2015,small,landlockedMalawiinsoutheastAfricaneedsinvestment-andneedsitbadly.
TheMalawiInvestmentandTradeCenter(MITC),thecountry鈥檚premiertradeandinvestmentpromotionagency,hostedatwo-dayMalawi-ChinaInvestmentForumincapitalLilongweinJunetoshowcaseMalawi鈥檚investmentpotentialtoChina,withthepossibilityofcreatingjointventuresbetweencompaniesfromthetwocountries.
TheeventespeciallytargetedinvestorsfromAnhui,aprovinceineastChina.Themed鈥淔osteringProductionCapacityCooperationbetweenMalawiandAnhui,鈥漣tattractedabout100investorsfromtheChineseprovincealongwith250localbusinessleaders.
MalawianPresidentPeterMutharika,whopresidedovertheopeningoftheforum,guaranteedsecuritytoinvestorsaswellasanimprovedenergyscenario.
鈥淢alawiisataturningpoint.Inthelasttwoyears,wehavebeguntodowhatwehaveneverdoneatanypointinourhistory.WearemovingMalawifromaidtotradeandIwanttoassureyouthatthegovernmentissettoprovidesecurityofyourinvestment,lifeandproperty,鈥滿utharikasaid.
Headdedthattofacilitatetheinvestmentprocess,aone-stopservicecenterhasbeenestablishedatMITCinLilongwe.ThekeysectorswhereMalawiisseekingdirectinvestmentareagricultureandagro-processing,energy,mining,informationandcommunicationtechnology,tourism,infrastructureandmanufacturing.Mutharikaurgedinvestorstobuild鈥減roductivepartnerships鈥漺ithhiscountry鈥檚privatesector.
Healsoaddressedtheissueofdailyelectricityblackouts.鈥淔ormanyyears,energyhasbeenthebindingconstraintinoureconomy.Now,weareupgradingourelectricitygenerationandtransmissioncapacity.OncompletionofthisexercisebyJune2017,ourtransmissioninfrastructurewillhavethecapacitytocarryupto7,000mw,鈥漢esaid.
Mutharika,whovisitedAnhuilastyear,toldinvestorsMalawineedstransformationinvestmentthatwillsubstituteimportsandpropelexports.
LeaderoftheChinesedelegation,SongWei-ping,saidtheareasofinterestforChineseinvestorswereeducation,withparticularemphasisontechnicalcolleges,trade,andagriculture.
Songsaidthereweremanypotentialinvestmentareas,suchasmechanizedirrigationandseedproduc-tion,andhewouldbespreadingthewordtocolleaguesonhisreturnhome.
鈥淚tisourhopethatthisforumwillopenupavenuesforotherChineseinvestorstocomeandinvestinthisbeautifulcountry,鈥漇ongsaid.
Thereare23overseasenterprisesinAfricaestablishedbyinvestorsfromAnhuialonewiththeirAfricadedicatedinvestmentamountingto$1.2billion,XinhuaNewsAgencyreported.
SongsaidtheAnhuiProvincialGovernmentwillhelpChineseenterprisesenterMalawi,facilitatingcooperationonproductioncapacityandMalawi鈥檚developmentplanning.
Speakingaftertheevent,Malawi鈥檚MinisterofIndustry,TradeandTourism,JosephMwanamvekha,toldonlinenewsportalTheTimesthatsubstantialdealshadbeenmade.
鈥淭heforumwasamilestoneandasuccess.AnumberofdealsweremadewhichtheministryiscompilingjointlywiththeMITC,鈥漢esaid.
AccordingtoInternationalTradeCenter,thejointagencyoftheWorldTradeOrganizationandtheUnitedNations,in2015only5.2percentofMalawi鈥檚totalexports-valuedat$55.8million-landedinChina,whileimportsfromChinatotaled$303.8million.CA