100 million people, and indirectly to a market
of (Zimbabwe and DRC) within 2-12 hours.
The country is blessed with vast natural
resources and it enjoys vast tracts of beautiful
natural scenery including game reserves and
sandy beaches along the beautiful Lake Malawi.
Malawi ranks 110th out of 190 countries in
the 2018 Doing Business report published by
the World Bank, up by 23 positions compared to
2017. This improvement was driven by cheaper
construction permits, better access to credit, an
updated web-based customs data management
platform and a better resolution of insolvency.
10 reasons to invest in Malawi
1-Streamlined Investment Establishment
Procedures: Malawi operates the One-Stop
Service Centre through MITC, where investors
get all necessary investment- processing
requirements under one roof in just under fi ve
days.
2-Political Stability & Security: Malawi
has no history of civil war and has a vibrant
democracy
3-Liberalised Economy & Political
Commitment: Market-determined interest
rates and fl oating exchange rate. Government
Support towards private sector growth and
development through reforms and strategic
co-investments and turn-key projects.
4-Competitive Labour Market: Malawi
prides itself on its large, highly educated,
skilled, hardworking, trainable English
speaking workforce trained within the country
and in institutions around the world.
5-Preferential Access to Markets: Malawi
is a signatory to a number of multilateral and
bilateral trade agreements as part of its trade
policy. These provide preferential access to
world markets under COMESA, SADC, EU
and AGOA.
6-Untapped Investment Opportunities:
Malawi is a gold mine, fl ooded with untapped
economic opportunities waiting to be explored.
Potential opportunities for investment abound,
particularly in the following sectors: agriculture,
energy, mining, manufacturing, infrastructure
development/ICT, Tourism and fi nance.
7-Investor-Friendly Climate: Malawi
off ers an increasingly attractive destination for
foreign investors, with competitive investors’
tax incentives package. The country is party to
investor protection agreements and is becoming
the most competitive place to do business in
the region.
8-Ease of Access: Malawi has modern
telecommunication, daily fl ight connections
and access to regional and international
markets.
9-Growing Economy: The country has
been showing an upward trend in economic
growth since 2007.
10-Developing Infrastructure: Malawi has
seen tremendous infrastructure development in
the last ten years in sectors such as transport,
property development and ICT.
Special Economic Zones
Special Economic Zones can be broadly
defined as demarcated geographical areas
contained within a country’s national boundaries
where the rules of business are diff erent from
those that prevail in the national territory.
These diff erential rules principally deal with
investment conditions, international trade
and customs, taxation, and the regulatory
environment; whereby the zone is given a
business environment that is intended to be
more liberal from a policy perspective and more
eff ective from an administrative perspective
than that of the national territory.
Malawi is establishing SEZs to fast-
track industrialization which would lead to
sustainable economic growth and development.
2019 • INDIA-MALAWI • 31