Present at the Forum were the Malawi Ambassador to China, H.E. Ernest Makawa; the Secretary-General of the China-Africa Industrial Cooperation and Development Forum, Mr. Chen Zhigang; the chief executive officer of MITC, Mr. Clement Kumbemba; the honorary chairman of Chinese Research Society of African Affairs, and the former China Ambassador to Kenya and Namibia, Mr. An Yongyu; the former China Ambassador to Ivory Coast, Mr. Liu Lide; the vice president of Foundation for China International Studies, and the former China Ambassador to Kenya and Jamaica, Mr. Guo Chongli; and a group of over 100 from the members of Investment Promotion Agency of MITC and Malawi Business Delegation, as well as famous Chinese entrepreneurs.
The Malawi Ambassador to China, H.E. Ernest Makawa gave the welcoming speech, in which he asserted that since the establishment of the China-Malawi diplomatic relationship, the two countries have jointly witnessed the tremendous growth in the world economy and increasing communication between the two countries; and the Malawi Government welcomed Chinese investors to invest in Malawi, furthering the cooperation between the two countries.The Secretary-General of China-Africa Industrial Cooperation and Development Forum, Mr. Chen Zhigang stated that since China and Malawi established diplomatic ties, governmental and commercial exchanges had been constantly increasing and the two counties had stepped into their best time for cooperation. He explained that as early as ten years ago, Chinese enterprises started to invest in Malawi; and the arrival of the Malawi Business Delegation today would facilitate more Chinese enterprises to invest and develop in Malawi. He said that the forum today was a good start and he wished that more intentions for cooperation would be agreed at the Forum.
Mr. Esther Mwimba of MITC made a brief introduction of the current steady growth of Malawi economy and other countries’ incentive policies. China and Malawi had a broad cooperative foundation, and Malawi was a predominantly agrarian country, opening wide opportunities for Chinese enterprises to invest in its agriculture industry; in addition, cooperation possibilities also existed in the communication, tourism, and energy industries.
Finally, Partner Han Liang from King&Capital gave a quick introduction about the Africa Legal Affairs Center to the guests and entrepreneurs present, the procedure for Chinese enterprises interested in overseas investment and the legal issues related to investment in Malawi. Furthermore, Attorney Han also presented the “Legal Guidelines on Investment in Africa by 22 countries” accomplished by the Africa Legal Affairs Center, which will provide strong legal support for Chinese enterprises to invest in Africa hopefully.
In the forum, all attendees conducted group discussions and project-matching. The entrepreneurs from China and Malawi have reached several substantive project cooperation intentions.
