Malawi: JTI Snubs Government on Cigarette Manufacturing Company

Source from:  The Maravi Post  08/15/2014

Malawi insists that it is no longer interested to invest in a cigarette manufacturing company in Malawi after government snubbed it's investment proposal two years ago.

President Peter Mutharika condemned government controlling officers for lacking interest to grab investment opportunities like the one JTI Leaf Malawi offered two years ago.

"It's a shame that as a country we are not serious to grab readily available investment opportunities that can help to develop this country" president Mutharika told the media Tuesday in Lilongwe.  

JTI Leaf Malawi officials said in Lilongwe during the Media Capability Building Workshop on tobacco Integrated Production System IPS that they have no further interest on the local cigarette market investment. 

In an interview after opening the workshop Minister of information Kondwani Nankhumwa said that government will engage JTI Leaf Malawi to have a renewed discussion on their investment plan into cigarette manufacturing company. 

Nankhumwa said that government is taking business investment issues seriously as led by president Peter Mutharika who continue emphasizing on the importance of improving investment climate to woo more local and foreign investments. 

Reacting to government's intention to negotiate for investment consideration into cigarette company JTI Leaf Malawi Managing Director Fries Vanneste said that the company is no longer interested to invest in cigarette manufacturing.

Vanneste said that the company spent the money that was intended to invest in Malawi into other countries like Egypt, Belgium where they have cigarette manufacturing companies. 

He said that the company did not have cigarette investment plans in Malawi but they considered to invest after government approached the company to consider investing in Malawi. 

The JTI Leaf Malawi said that the other factor remain that the country's cigarette market is too small to impress the company to bounce back with its investment plan. Enditem