Conglomerate Press Corporation Limited plc has announced plans to dispose of its shares in Malawi Telecommunications Limited (MTL) owing to the subsidiary’s unsatisfactory performance in recent years.
The conglomerate is also engaging a ‘technical partner’ in its foods business, Maldeco Fisheries, for similar reasons.
This came out during the company’s stakeholder engagement meeting held recently in Blantyre.
Press Corporation Board Chairperson Radson Mwadiwa said in the interim the company is exploring foreign investments to venture into.
“We don’t want to have our eggs in one basket. You know that we have been facing a challenge of foreign exchange, and we do believe that to help the country end foreign exchange woes, we must invest outside so that the dividends that we’ll be getting from that investment will be in foreign exchange,” he said.
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He said the listed firm has been in talks with other stakeholders in MTL, including the government, on the way forward.
“We are still negotiating with the government, but, yes, we wanted to move out of MTL.
“As for Maldeco, the question was that we need a technical partner and I think we are about to get one very soon; so, we should be starting production at Maldeco in the next few months,” Mwadiwa said.
One of the company’s shareholders Brian Kampanje said performance of some of its subsidiaries has been a major concern for some time.
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He cited companies such as TNM and MTL, stressing that they are making losses which are bringing down profit of the group.
Meanwhile, MTL has been employing turnaround strategies to rejuvenate its business.
Last month, the firm got three operating licences that will run for the next 10 years from the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority.
The licences include the Application Services Licence, Network Facilities Licence, and Network Services Licence, serving as the renewal of the old licenses.
MTL Chief Executive Officer Harry Gombachika highlighted that the renewal and acquisition of new operating licences mark a new era for the company.
He said the expansion of broadband and digital broadcasting services under this licence is a crucial step towards bridging the digital divide in Malawi.
