Hon. Abel Kayembe invites Sri Lankan business community to invest in Malawi

On 17 November, Hon Abel Katembe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs extended an open invitation to Sri Lankan business captains to come and invest in Malawi. The Deputy Minister said this when he addressed Sri Lankan business and captains of industry  at a business dinner hosted by Fegusam Timex Group at Hilton Hotel, in Colombo. At the dinner, the Deputy Minister was accompanied by the Secretray for External Affairs, Mr. George Manduwa; Malawi High Commissioner to India,   H. E. Dr. Perks Ligoya; Malawi High Commissioner to United Kingdom, Mr. Bernad Sande, the Chief Executive Officer of the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (MITC), Mr. Clement Kumbemba; Senior Government oficials.

In his remarks, Hon. Kayembe informed the gathering that Malawi was a democratic and peaceful country, which offers immense opportunities for investment to any prospective investor. He said following the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties between Malawi and Sri Lanka, business persons from both countries should take the cue from the leaders of the two countries to open up business links. He noted that, among other sectors, Sri Lanka had a thriving and robust gemstone; and textile and garment industries. The Minister informed the gathering that Malawi was endowed with vast number of semi precious stones, which offer huge potential for processing and value addition.

The Minister further informed the gathering that Malawi under the African Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA) has a ready market for apparel in U.S.A. He said Malawi was also a member of two regional markets, viz: the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which offer huge markets for products made in the region including Malawi. The Minister further said, Under the Everything But Arms (EBA), Malawi has a ready market in the European Union (EU). The Minister observed that with such huge markets, Sri Lankan investors were welcome to tap these markets by investing in Malawi. 

Also speaking at the dinner, Malawi High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, H.E. Dr. Perks Ligoya was upbeat about the new bilateral diplomatc relations which Malawi and Sri Lanka had just established. He called on Sri Lankan business captains of industry  to take advantage of the cordila relaions between Malawi and Sri Lanka to invest in Malawi. He assured the business persons that the Malawi High Commisison in New Delhi was ready to facilitate application for visa requirements to enable the busines persons travel to Malawi.

In his reamarks Mr. Anil Sattar, the Mnaging Director of Fergusam Timex Group  thanked the Governemnt of Malawi for opening its Mission in Sri Lanka and called on his fellow business person to invest  in Malawi. He thanked the patrons for turning up in large numbers which he said demonstrated that the preesence of the Malawi delegation at the Coomnwealth and the establishment of the bilateral diplomatic relations between the two countries had generated a lot of interest among Sri Lankan business persons who were keen  to learn more and invest in Malawi.  

Taking his turn Mr Clement Kumbemba informed the gathering that the Malawi Invetsment and Trade Centre was a one-stop-centre created by Governement of Malawi with the mandate to faciliate registration and processing of new investments in Malawi. He said Malawi offers robust invetment incentives including tax holidays to prospective  investors. He assured the Sri Lankan captains of Industry that their investements in Malawi would be secured. He said Malawi was  as signatory to international insurance agencies, including the Multilateral InvestmentGuarantee Agency (MIGA) is an international financial institution, which offers political risk insurance guarantees.

Hon. Kayembe accompanied the Vice-President of Malawi, Hon. Khumbo Hastings Kachali to Sri Lanka to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held from 11 to 17 November 2013