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Malawi: A Fertile Land for Investment Waiting for Development

2016-12-24

On December 20th, 2016, H.E. Mr. Shiting Wang, Chinese ambassador to Malawi, published a signed article entitled "Malawi: A Fertile Land for Investment Waiting for Development" on the China Investment (African Edition) . It was promptly transtated into English and reprinted on the website of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.The full text reads as follows (translated by Xu Qinduo):

The 'warmheart' of Africa

To most Chinese, Malawi is a remote and unknown country. With118,584 square kilometers of land , it is located in the hinterlands of southeast Africa. To its east , it is adjacent to Malawi Lake, the third largest lake in Africa; while on the south, west and north , it is bounded by Mozambique, Zambia, and Tanzania respectively. Its scenery is quite beautiful with fantastic mountains and rivers, and more importantly, the people here are very hardworking, simple, warm and hospitable, which wins Malawi the acclaim of the"warmheart of Africa".


Malawi's climate is mild with moderate rainfall. Even in its dry season, a boundless landscape of mountains and lakes covered with lush plants can be seen everywhere; and when the rainy season comes, the whole country turns green unknowingly with colorful flowers in full bloom. Such an incredible beauty is just like "a haven of peace and happiness" in Africa, which shows no resemblance to the hot and desolate continent of  our imagination.


Malawi has a fabulous natural environment and rich tourismresources. Malawi Lake, covering one-fifth of its total land area, flows fromsouth to north, where the scenery is charming and attractive. While standingthere and watching the boundless ripples and waves, you can't help thinking you have entered into a fairyland floating in midair. The wildlife of the lake are abundant, and the quantity of itsfreshwater fish species tops all other great lakes in the world, with 80% ofthem endemic , which make it  an ideal place for tourists to dive and explore. Besides this exquisite lake, the nature reserves and wild zoos dotted all over the country, as well as the high Mount Mulanje, are  so magnificent that tourists can't tear themselves away from them.

 

The Fertile Land for investment

In 2015, its total GDP  was about $6.5 billion, but its GDP per capita is only $381 (according to the World Bank), so it is one of the least developed countries. But on the other hand, if you have a chance to visit it, you may find that it is a country full of vigor, where people live and work in peace and contentment with heavy traffic on the streets. As a matter of fact though, for the time being, its infrastructure is poor, and development is falling behind, the future growth opportunities are enormous considering it soutstanding natural conditions and secure social environment. Thus, it isreally a fertile land waiting to be developed in  the continent of hope. According to my understanding, three colors can be used to describe its investment environment and potentials.


The first color is red. In the foreseeable future, Malawi will be on the threshold of a significant demographic dividend. First, there will be a huge increase in its population. Its current population is around 17 million, which is already one of the most densely populated countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Secondly, young people account for a considerable proportion of thepopulation, and more than half of them are less than fifteen years old.Thirdly, its labor cost is quite low, and the basic salary is only one-tenth ofours. Fourthly, since the process of urbanization has just started, theconsumer market in the future will have a huge potential. As we all know, aslong as there is popularity, business will be booming, so definitely the 17million people in Malawi will be an attraction to all investors.


Furthermore, 40% of its land is arable, abound with tobacco, tea, coffee and cotton; and its fishery resources are also abundant. As atraditionally agricultural country, it enjoys enough sunshine throughout the year, while Malawi Lake provides an inexhaustible supply of water for agricultural irrigation. Therefore, agricultural production will have a brilliant future when the infrastructure is improved. All in all, favorable human resources and natural conditions offer great chances for the country's economic development and will surely attract more and more foreign investors to make their fortune here.


The second color is blue, which is the symbol of peace. Based on the risk assessment of different countries in the world issued by the Consular Department of Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs , the whole area of Malawi is on the grade of blue, which means its security situation is quite good. Since it became independent 52 years ago, no war, civil unrest or military intervention has ever happened, and the political situation has been  stable. Presidential elections have been carried out successfully five times, and each time  power was transferred smoothly, which is quite rare among many turbulent African countries. Such a peaceful and secure environment sets investors at ease, so with the deepening of opening to the outsideworld, there is no doubt that more investors are coming here to seek business opportunities.


The third color is white. because being a least developed  country as determined by the UN, it is still a blank page in many fields. Traditionally, it is an agricultural country, and 80% of its people are farmers; while on the other hand, its manufacturing industry has not yet started, and finance and the service sector are almost non-existent. Most products and living materials, no matter whether they are engineering machinery or odds and ends of sewing, are heavily dependent on imports. As the saying goes:"On a blank sheet of paper, the most beautiful things can be drawn." Malawi, whose industries are all waiting to be developed, not only sets the stage for entrepreneurs, but also is becoming a potential hotspot  for cooperation on production capacity and investment. In recent years, Malawi's government has  come up with many favorable policies, such as a 'one-stop-centre' in order to make investment easier and to attract more foreign capital. The aim is to realize a leap 'from assistance to trade' and "from consumption and import toproduction and export".Therefore, on this sheet of blank paper, a blueprint for its rapid development can be expected soon.


The cooperation between China and Malawi is coming into play

In 2007, China established diplomatic relations with Malawi, and in the past nine years, the relationship has developed smoothly. The cooperation in many fields is very quick and pragmatic with fruitful results. A large number of large projects built or funded by the Chinese side, such as the Malawi House of Parliament, five-star hotels, an international conference centre, the presidential villa, Kalunga-Chitipa highway, the University of Science and Technology of Malawi, and Bingou National Stadium, have greatly improved Malawi's infrastructure conditions, and actually they have become the country's "business cards", of which the local citizens are so proud. In the meantime, the Chinese side also helped Malawi build schools, wells and other small livelihood-related facilities, which can be seen all over the country  and have effectively bettered the people's living conditions.


In January 2016, Chinese foreign minister H.E. Wang Yi chose Malawi as his first stop of this year's visit. During his visit, he met with H.E. Prof. Arthur Peter Mutharika, the President of Malawi and Hon. Mr. George Chaponda, the foreign minister at that time, and they reached a broad consensus on the further development of bilateral relations. In June this year, the Chinese Embassy in Malawi, Malawi's industry, trade and tourism department, as well as Anhui Province jointly held the first forum on cooperation on production capacity and investment between China and Malawi in Lilongwe, the capital, which attracted over a hundred entrepreneurs from Anhui and three hundred local entrepreneurs. The two sides came to a series of cooperation intentions and agreements, which will inject new vitality into the development of economic and trade relations between the two countries.


Malawi's government, especially H.E. President Mutharika, has been attaching great importance to the development of the relationship between China and Malawi, and has repeatedly proposed to further strengthen the cooperation in the fields of politics, economy, trade and culture with China to promote Malawi's economic and social development, where China can definitely play a very important role. Thus, to continue developing the relationship of our two countries is both a general trend and a common aspiration.

 

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