Firm sees 4.5 percent GDP growth in 2019
By Taonga Sabola
Investment management and advisory firm, Alliance Capital Limited, has predicted the local economy to swell by 4.5 percent this year.
The forecast is 1.1 percentage points shy of the 5.6 percent growth projected by the African Development Bank in its 2019 African Economic Outlook.
In its annual economic report released on Thursday, Alliance Capital says growth will accelerate from last year’s 3.3 percent on the back of availability of food, up tick in tobacco, tea and coffee output and the continued stability of the exchange rate.
Alliance Capital says optimism in the manufacturing sector for the months ahead has improved on account of better prospects for production, capacity utilisation, better exports and profit margins, with the short-term electricity out put interventions.
It adds that investment activity is expected to pickup with a lift in business expectations.
The firm says credit growth is also expected through relatively low benchmark rates to boost the economy further.
Alliance Capital is, however, quick to note that Malawi’s economic outlook remains highly vulnerable to internal and external risks, including natural shocks and poor economic management, which have contributed to macroeconomic instability in the recent past.
