REPUBLICOFMALAWI

STATEMENTBY

HISEXCELLENCY,PROF.ARTHURPETER

MUTHARIKA,PRESIDENTOFTHEREPUBLICOF

MALAWI

ATTHE

MALAWIINVESTMENTFORUM2015

BINGUINTERNATIONALCONFERENCECENTRE,LILONGWE

29thJune,2015

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Your Excellency the First Lady of the Republic of Malawi,Madam Gertrude Hendrina Mutharika

Right Honourable Saulos Chilima, Vice President of the

Republic of Malawi and Madam Chilima,

Distinguished Invited Guests,

Honourable Ministers present,

Foreign and local dignitaries

Foreign and local Investors

Ladies and Gentlemen

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It is a distinctive pleasure for me and all Malawians to

welcome you to our country for the first ever Malawi

Investment Forum.

I am pleased to note that investors from all over the world

and Malawi have accepted our invitation and joined us for this

very important event.

I promise that the time that you have devoted to this

conference will be a worthwhile investment. You will have the

chance to hear about Malawi as a preferred country where

you can do business; you will learn about the strengths of its

investment environment; you will discover new investment

opportunities; you will build productive partnerships with the

domestic private sector; and you will discover why this

country is called the Warm Heart of Africa.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

The Government of Malawi believes that the private sector is

the driver of economic development in this country. We

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believe that investment, both foreign and domestic, is the

engine that will develop the economy of this country from a

predominantly importing and consuming to a predominantly

exporting and producing one. We believe that the private

sector will bring the prosperity that our people earnestly

deserve.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

In light of this vision, we will do our utmost to facilitate

domestic and foreign investment in this country.

The country has initiated and implemented various reforms

that will make your journey towards investment in Malawi

easier. My Government will also provide security for foreign

direct investments including flexibility in repatriation of profits.

Most recently, Malawi has:

- Established a One-Stop-Service-Centre at the Malawi

Investment and Trade Centre. The centre will assist

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you with the registration of your company, the

identification of land, the processing of employment

permits and other required licenses, and advise you on

available incentives;

- Malawi has liberalised the exchange rate and will

uphold this policy. As a result, the Malawi Kwacha has

been stable over the last year and the government

expects that this trend will continue for the foreseeable

future;

- Malawi has upgraded the electricity generation capacity

and introduced demand side management measures.

Malawis electricity supply has become increasingly

reliable as generation capacity exceeds demand during

off-peak hours;

- Further, as part of the upgrading of the transportation

corridors, a rail line from Tete to the deep sea port of

Nacala has been constructed. The line will provide fast

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access to the Indian Ocean and cut transportation

costs for the import and export of products; and

- Finally, Malawi has in this month of June, 2015

become a signatory of the Tripartite Free Trade

Agreement bringing together twenty six (26) countries

from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern

Africa (COMESA), Eastern African Community (EAC)

and the Southern African Development Community

(SADC). The treaty will boost regional trade and open

up investment opportunities that seemed impossible a

couple of years ago;

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

We also know there is still much more to be done to improve

the competitiveness of Malawi as an investment destination. I

believe that we can reach our targets through continuous

dialogue and the exchange of ideas with the private sector.

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Some of the most important reforms that this government will

implement during the coming years include:

- Reform of the legal and institutional framework for land

administration. This will make the purchase of land

more transparent and reduce the potential for disputes;

- Construction of an electricity interconnector with

Mozambique and upgrading of the national

transmission network;

- Introduction of National Identification Cards for all

citizens and operationalisation of Credit Reference

Bureaus;

- Review of the Seed Act and policy, with the aim of

facilitating the prompt introduction of high quality seed;

and

- The reform of the Public Sector, including government

ministries as well as parastatals.

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Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

There are many sectors in Malawi that have the potential to

transform this country. These sectors include:

- Agriculture & Agro-Processing

- Tourism

- Energy

- Manufacturing

- Infrastructure

- Mining

- Financial Services

This afternoon and tomorrow you will have the opportunity to

discuss how these sectors are structured, what their strengths

and weaknesses are, and what investment opportunities lie

ahead.

Let me once again welcome all investors to Malawi and

assure you that Malawi is ready for your investment. Your

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investment will be secure fiscally and physically. We have put

measures in place to ensure that you are secure both at

home and at work and even in between. We are implementing

a number of reforms as alluded to earlier on to ensure that

the business environment is conducive for all. It is my sincere

hope that you will make Malawi the home of your

investments.

With these few remarks, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

I now have the singular honour and privilege to declare the

Malawi Investment Forum 2015 officially open.

I thank you attention

May God bless us all and May God bless mother Malawi

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