Private sector attracted K414 billion FDI—NSO
Malawi’s private sector alone attracted about K414 billion ($1.2 billion) Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2010, the National Statistical Office (NSO) has said.
Speaking in an interview during the official opening of the sensitisation workshop on Foreign Private Capital and Investor Perception Survey at Malawi Sun Hotel in Blantyre on Monday, NSO commissioner of statistics Charles Machinjiri said the volume of investment shows that investors have confidence in the country.
“[Investor perceptions] surveys provide basic information for the country to formulate macroeconomic policies that determine the investment climate. Investment cannot come into a country when interest rates and inflation are not at the right levels.
“For government to plan properly on how to stabilise the kwacha, and to stabilising the price increase it needs such information.
“We also need to know how much private companies are getting from their parent companies and how much they are borrowing from abroad,” said Machinjiri.
Speaking at the official opening of the workshop, Minister of Economic Planning and Development Ralph Jooma noted that meaningful development requires timely and relevant data.
“The perceptions on the investment climate will enable government to put in place measures that will be favourable and beneficial to operations of the business community.
“The workshop is important because it will raise awareness of the importance of the survey to the private sector. Confidentiality of the information collected through the survey is guaranteed,” said Jooma.
According to the 2011 Foreign Private Capital Investor Perceptions Survey results presented during the workshop, , high proportions of respondents indicated that the operations of Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA), Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM), the legal system and Ministry of Finance had negatively affected investors’ business functions.
The report noted attributed the perceptions to the tight fiscal and monetary policies implemented during the period under review.
The results drawn from the survey revealed severe negative perceptions on the cost and efficiency in the delivery of electricity and water supply and road transport.
