Indian investors are planning to open an assembly plant for computers as part of a $50 million (about K87.5 billion) investment facilitated by the Malawi and India governments.

Sunil Kumar, who is trade commissioner of the India-Africa Trade Council commissioner of  Malawi in Gujurat, said this on Thursday at the Malawi-India business dialogue held at Bingu International Convention Centre in Lilongwe.

Usi and Kumar inspect a Coconics computer

He said Coconics, a public-private laptop and server manufacturing company and an original equipment manufacturer, was in talks with local stakeholders to set up a factory and bring their operations to Malawi.

“We are thinking of distributing here in Malawi, then we can check the volumes [demanded] and bring production here [in Malawi],” he said.

The announcement follows memoranda of understanding (MoUs) signed between a delegation of Indian investors and local ministries, departments and agencies. The delegation met representatives from the health, agriculture, communication and information technology sectors.

Speaking at the event, Minister of Natural Resources and Climate Change Michael Usi expressed optimism that the investment and partnerships with India would help spur economic growth.

He said: “Malawi aspires to be a self-reliant and lower middle-income economy by 2030 using the agriculture, tourism and mining sectors. We know that developing these sectors will require both domestic and foreign investment.

“And we know that India has the expertise in these sectors. By leveraging our respective strengths and resources, we can embark on transformative initiatives that benefit our economies and uplift our people.”

On his part, Malawi’s High Commissioner to India Leonard Mengezi urged the two countries’ representatives to “seize the opportunity to strengthen and deepen these ties for the benefit of our countries”.

The event was also attended by Ministry of Trade and Industry Principal Secretary Christina Zakeyu.

The post Indian investor eyes computer factory venture first appeared on Nation Online.

The post Indian investor eyes computer factory venture appeared first on Nation Online.