Firm seeks partners in K14bn mall project – The Nation Online

Firm seeks partners in K14bn mall project – The Nation Online: Fisd Limited is seeking financial partnership in the construction of an ambitious Area 43 Mall, a project the Lilongwe City Council has described as a game changer.

The proposed two-storey building project to be constructed on a 2.2 hectares, is expected to start in June this year and will be completed in December 2021 to open for business in January 2022.

Govt sweats on Khato deal – The Nation Online

Govt sweats on Khato deal – The Nation Online: A flurry of meetings—including ministerial level gatherings—show how government is leaving no stone unturned to walk away from the K400 billion Salima-Lilongwe Water Supply project.

But Capital Hill is facing a tenacious contractor in Khato Civils, who has given government 14 days to come back to the negotiation table or it will refer the matter for court arbitration.

Limbe Leaf shuts Blantyre factory - The Times Group Malawi

Limbe Leaf shuts Blantyre factory - The Times Group Malawi: There are fears that 96 employees of Limbe Leaf Tobacco Company may lose their jobs following a decision to shut down the company’s leaf tobacco processing facility in Blantyre.

The company announced in a statement last week that it has closed its Blantyre factory operations and has moved specialised operations to the company’s main factory in Lilongwe in preparation for the commencement of the 2020 tobacco processing season.

Mkango subsidiary buys into UK magnet recycling firm HyProMag | Sharecast.com

Mkango subsidiary buys into UK magnet recycling firm HyProMag | 

 Mkango Resources announced on Friday that its subsidiary Maginito has completed the acquisition of an initial 25% interest in HyProMag - a private, UK-based company focussed on rare earth magnet recycling, as it initially announced on 23 September.

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The AIM-traded firm said Maginito invested an initial �0.3m for a 25% interest in HyProMag, and had an option to invest a further �1m to increase its interest up to 49%.

World bank lowers 2020 growth to 4.8% – The Nation Online

World bank lowers 2020 growth to 4.8% – The Nation Online: The World Bank has projected that Malawi’s economy will grow by 4.8 percent this year, which is 2.2 percentage points lower than Malawi Government’s ambitious projection of seven percent.

The Bretton Woods institution’s projection is premised on weather shocks and political instability folowing the disputed May 21 Tripartite Elections whose presidential race outcome is being contested in court.

Cotton farmers plan to produce 50 000MT – The Nation Online

Cotton farmers plan to produce 50 000MT – The Nation Online: Cotton farmers target to produce 50 000 metric tonnes (MT) of the crop in the 2019/20 growing season, a jump from last year’s 7 000MT.

The sector could generate K2 billion

Employers call for economic diversification from raw produce – The Nation Online

Employers call for economic diversification from raw produce – The Nation Online: Employers Consultative Association of Malawi (Ecam) has added weight to calls for investments in sectors other than agriculture which has been persistently underperforming in recent years, denting the country’s economic growth.

Ecam, an apex body which represents employer interests, said as part of medium-term plans, it wants to work with government and other stakeholders in diversifying the economy into manufacturing and agro-processing as opposed to depending on tobacco and raw agriculture produce only.

Chileka Airport runway now open – The Nation Online

Chileka Airport runway now open – The Nation Online: Renovations on the Chileka International Airport runway have been completed and the airport is now open to big aircrafts, the airport management has confirmed.

The airport was temporarily closed to big aircrafts on April 2019 to allow for renovations� after it developed cracks, raising safety concerns particularly by South African Airways (SAA) which announced it would halt flights to Blantyre until the situation was rectified.

Malawi: Airtel Share Sale On Malawi Stock Exchange Under Intense Scrutiny - allAfrica.com

Malawi: Airtel Share Sale On Malawi Stock Exchange Under Intense Scrutiny - allAfrica.com: Multi-national mobile telecommunications network operator Airtel management decision to sell shares in the company has attracted mixed reactions as well as intense scrutiny with some Malawians already expressing reservations.

Aitel is offering a total of 2.2 billion shares at a price of K12.69 per share on the Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE), allowing the public for the first time to own part of the telecommunications firm.

he company's offer represents Malawi's largest Initial Public Offer (IPO) in the history of MSE listing.

Chinese miner puts chiefs on payroll | Malawi 24 - Malawi news

Chinese miner puts chiefs on payroll | Malawi 24 - Malawi news: HOME
BUSINESS
Chinese miner puts chiefs on payroll
Chinese miner puts chiefs on payroll
Jan 03, 2020 Richard Jimu Business 0

A Chinese mining firm in Chitipa pays 21 chiefs in the district a monthly ‘allowance’ despite locals accusing the company of failing to implement corporate social responsibility programmes.

Center for Investigative Journalism in Malawi (CIJM) reported that Ilomba Mining Company which mines gemstone gives K20,000 to each of 21 chiefs under Traditional Authority Mwawulambya

Malawi Stock Exchange hopes for more new listings in 2020 - The Times Group Malawi

Malawi Stock Exchange hopes for more new listings in 2020 - The Times Group Malawi: Expectations are high among officials of the Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) that two new companies will join the stock market in the course of the New Year, 2020.

In an interview, MSE Chief Executive Officer, John Kamanga, without revealing the names of the companies said they come from the financial sector

Malawi remittances jump, now at $235m – The Nation Online

Malawi remittances jump, now at $235m – The Nation Online: Malawi has earned $235 million (about K196 billion) in remittance through Money Transfer Operators and Foreign Currency Denominated Accounts in 11 month period to November, Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) figures show.

The 11-month figure is nearly twice the $186 million (K137 billion) the country received last year through remittanc

Green belt authority Unveils k6bn project – The Nation Online

Green belt authority Unveils k6bn project – The Nation Online: The Malawi Government, through the Green Belt Authority (GBA), has invested $8 million (about K6 billion) in Intensive Vegetable Farming Project in Lumbadzi, Lilongwe to take advantage of the local and export market.

GBA chief executive officer Henri Njoloma said in an interview on Tuesday in Blantyre that the vegetable project or greenhouse project, is a joint venture (JV) partnership with an Israeli-based Inosselia Commercial Limited, a subsidiary of Inosselia Investment Group, which is a global, progressive conglomerate of companies with a cross sector industry portfolio.

Our Comment on Airtel Shares Offer

The big financial news during the last days of 2019 has been the announcement by Airtel that it is offering  2.2 billion shares primarily to Malawians pegged MK12.69 per share. This will be listed on Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) for individuals.

There are at least three arguments for attracting foreign investment. The first is that it brings in new capital. The second is that it will bring technology and the third is that will help open up foreign markets for the host country.  The Airtel deal fails in at least two of these. It does not bring in new capital. Instead, it is borrowing locally. Its services are necessarily not tradable so it will not be contributing to Malawi’s export and forex earnings. As for technological, the technologies it used are quite standard.

Unless a foreign company is bringing in new technology and expanding the country’s export there is really no reason for allowing the company to raise funds locally.  Allowing Airtel to borrow locally without insisting on the reciprocal augmentation of Malawi’s technological capacity or export simply leads to the crowding out of domestic enterprises.

Domestic entrepreneurs complain about the lack of credit. Airtel’s offer suggests that there are large sums of funds looking for outlets. We know that pension funds are sitting on more than two billion dollars.  The offer also confirms the indigenous capitalist's complaint that the stock market does not serve them.

What all this point towards is the need for the revival of national development institutions like MDC to lend to national capitalists or, through joint ventures, to acquire new technology and open up export markets. The Airtel deal is bad one. It is short-sighted and indicative of a complete lack of development strategy by the government.

Airtel offers 2.2 billion shares to Malawians....Share pegged at MK12.69...Open for public Dec 27 - The Maravi Post

Airtel offers 2.2 billion shares to Malawians....Share pegged at MK12.69...Open for public Dec 27 - The Maravi Post: LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Airtel Malawi plc (“Airtel”) today on Christmas Eve offered 2.2 billion shares primarily to Malawians pegged MK12.69 per share.

This will be listed on Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) for individuals, companies and foreigners to buy shares for business.

Lotus gets approval for Kayelekera buy

Lotus gets approval for Kayelekera buy: RTH (miningweekly.com) – Malawi’s Minister for Natural Resources, Energy and Mining has given ASX-listed Paladin Energy consent to divest of its 85% stake in the Kayelekera uranium project.

Paladin in June struck an agreement with Lotus, a subsidiary of Hylea Metals, to divest of 65% its interest in the project for A$5-million, made up of A$200 000 in cash and A$4.8-million worth of Hylea shares. Paladin will also receive a 3.5% royalty on revenues derived from future production at Kayelekera, capped at A$5-million.

Sovereign Metals (ASX:SVM) to drill for rutile targets - The Market Herald

Sovereign Metals (ASX:SVM) to drill for rutile targets - The Market Herald: Sovereign Metals (SVM) has commenced an air-core drilling program which will test at least three prospects in Malawi.

A total of 45 holes for approximately 1000 metres is planned across three targets to test the extent and tenor of rutile mineralisation at depth.

Mpatamanga plant could solve power woes—minister – The Nation Online

Mpatamanga plant could solve power woes—minister – The Nation Online: Mpatamanga plant could solve power woes—minister
Nation Online December 16, 2019 0 Comments
Construction of the proposed $1 billion (about K740 billion) 350 megawatt (MW) Mpatamanga Hydropower Plant will be key in meeting future power demand.

Minister of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining Bintony Kutsaira said this on Friday at the launch of the procurement of a strategic sponsor of the project.

Malawi’s first solar energy project reaches financial close | REVE News of the wind sector in Spain and in the world

Malawi’s first solar energy project reaches financial close | REVE News of the wind sector in Spain and in the world: One of Malawi’s first solar projects has reached financial close after attracting investment volume totaling $67 million USD. Initial site works have begun in Nkhotakota, and construction of the first phase is targeted for completion by March 2020. Once complete, the project will add 46 MW of clean energy to the local power supply.

Inflation back to double digit – The Nation Online

Inflation back to double digit – The Nation Online: Malawi’s headline inflation inched up by 0.8 percentage points to 10.4 percent in November�as food prices continued biting hard, a development the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM)�says is still manageable.�

Published figures from National Statistical Office (NSO) show that food inflation stood at 17.2 percent in November while non-food inflation was seen at 5.5 percent in the review month.