MITC upbeat on enticing investors
The Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (MITC), the country’s one-stop investment coordination centre, has touted strides it is making in attracting foreign direct investment (FDIs) into the country in cooperation with other entities.
MITC Chief Executive Officer Paul Kwengwere said, in the first 10 months of the year, various foreign companies have acquired investment certificates worth over $600 million.
He said the companies are now getting their personnel in the country and bringing in capital equipment to start operating.
Kwengwere said one of the major projects is establishment of a smart city along the Lilongwe- Salima Road.
“The investment certificates, issued at $600 million, are a significant pick up from the slowdown that was perpetuated by the Covid pandemic.
“However, it will take some three to four years before they materialise because these projects take time to implement,”Kwangwere said.
He said investors did not only express interest but getting to the other level where they are meeting players in the particular sector they want to invest in.
“Actually, in the energy sector, we have seen a number of interests with five applications regarding solar and we are also looking at applications related to hydropower and all these are actually in advanced stages where we can say they will materialise,” Kwengwere said.
He further expressed optimism that the trend will continue in 2023 as they keep up the momentum of providing necessary information to investors on time, despite facing competition from other African countries that are also looking for foreign direct investments.
