Banks speak on long-term financing - The Nation Online

Banks speak on long-term financing - The Nation Online: Constant macroeconomic risks in a fragile economy and unpredictability of the exchange rate are among issues that make it difficult for local banks to finance long-term investment projects.

Malawi News Agency Online - Government to rehabilitate M1 Road

Malawi News Agency Online - Government to rehabilitate M1 Road: Karonga, December 31, 2018: Government, with support from the European Investment Bank (EIB) will start rehabilitation of M1 Road from Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe to Chiweta in Karonga, soon.

Minister of Transport and Public Works, Jappie Mhango announced this in Karonga during supervision of construction of Karonga- Songwe Border road, on Saturday.

Happy New Year You all


In this year of the election, we will not only continue to provide the links to basic economic information on Malawi but will also provide some guidelines on critical issues through our "Comments". So keep your eyes open and spread the word.

Govt scales down coal power project - The Nation Online

Govt scales down coal power project - The Nation Online: Govt scales down coal power project Martha Chirambo December 26, 2018 0 Comments Malawi has scaled down the 300 megawatts (MW) Kam’mwamba Coal-Fired electricity generation project in Neno following the financiers’ decision to reduce the loan amount. Beijing, the financier of the project, has asked Lilongwe to reduce the loan amount for the implementation of the coal fired plant project from about $700 million (about K513 100) to around $500 million (about K366 500).

Pessimism on 2019 economic outlook | The Times Group

Pessimism on 2019 economic outlook | The Times Group: Commentators say Malawi’s economic outlook remains mixed and murky with some prevailing macro-economic challenges likely to persist.

The view comes as the World Bank predicted that the local economy would swell by 4.1 percent in 2019, an improvement from an estimated 3.5 percent growth in 2018.

Malawi taps 20 Megawatts into national grid from Zambia - The Maravi Post

Malawi taps 20 Megawatts into national grid from Zambia - The Maravi Post: The Chipata Mchinji 33 KV cross-border power supply line has been switched on.

This means Malawi has added 20 megawatts to its grid, a development which is expected to improve electricity supply in the country.

Mkango rare earths project results now fed into resource programme

Mkango rare earths project results now fed into resource programme: now fed into resource programme
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15:09 10 Dec 2018
Mkango Resources Ltd (LON:MKA, CVE:MKA) tells Proactive London that the final batch of results from the 2018 drill programme, at the Songwe Hill rare earths project in Malawi, has unearthed the highest grades to date. CEO William Dawes explains how those results will now be fed into a resource programme as he looks forward to their technical report unlocking Mkango's next tranche of funding.
Mkango said that the results of the majority of the remaining holes (19 of 21) from the 10,900 metre drill programme saw significant zones of rare earths mineralisation grading above 1% total rare earth oxides (TREO).

Economist  Malawi Growth Forecast (Dec 9 2018)

Economic growth After accelerating to 4% in 2017, on the back of a bumper harvest, economic growth will have slowed to 2.1% in 2018. Farmers had already reduced their maize plantings for the 2017/18 growing season (October-April), as a ban on maize exports caused a glut on the local market and losses on their sales. However, problems have been compounded by pest damage and insufficient rain. As a result, the latest official estimates point to a 28% contraction in maize output in 2017/18. Drought has also affected the production of other key crops, including rice. Assuming a return to more plentiful rainfall, 2019-23 should be stronger years for maize. Plans to expand other cash crops, such as soybeans, tea and sugar, are expected to have some success, helped by the eventual introduction of some pro-market reforms in the agricultural sector, which accounts for nearly 30% of GDP. This will be an important force behind an annual average real growth rate of 4.6% in 2019- 23. However, one major drag on growth will be the tobacco sector; production is set to register little or no growth during the forecast period, as a quota system introduced in 2017 by the Tobacco Control Commission in order to support prices is likely to be retained. In the power sector, frequent load-shedding and outages will remain a problem, even though water levels at dams should improve as the forecast period progresses. Electricity shortages will constrain industrial performance, only partly ameliorated by diesel generators. Rising aid inflows and public capital investment will be important growth-drivers for construction activity as the government seeks to expedite projects that address the country's infrastructure deficit. Growth elsewhere in the industrial sector is, however, expected to remain fairly lacklustre. Coal output will stabilise and improve slightly after recent contractions, but the sector is unlikely to re­emerge as a key driver of growth—particularly given a forecast decline in global prices in 2019-23. Malawi's mines will also struggle to compete with their counterparts in neighbouring countries. Flue­curing for tobacco—another domestic use for coal—will not support growth either, as output of the crop will be stagnant. There is an upside risk that uranium production will resume during the forecast period, but as Malawi is a high-cost operating environment, it is unlikely that international prices will rise sufficiently to justify bringing the country's only mine, Kayelekera, back into operation. 

Dry mangoes factory to boost exports - The Nation Online

Dry mangoes factory to boost exports - The Nation Online: Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism Francis Kasaila says the commissioning of dry mangoes factory at Malawi Mangoes company in Salima District is set to boost mango exports that will help the country realise foreign exchange and� create jobs. The minister said this when he commissioned the dry mangoes processing factory yesterday in Salima. He applauded the company for considering value-addition approach to mangoes for export which he said is in line with government’s export strategy.

Mkango Resources progresses on rare earths exploration - The Nation Online

Mkango Resources progresses on rare earths exploration - The Nation Online: Mkango Resources Limited, a Canadian-based mineral and exploration company, says it has started the� process to update mineral resource estimate. The exercise follows the completion of the final 21 drill holes from the recently completed 10 900-metre diamond drill programme at the Songwe Hill Rare Earths Project.