BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-The Minority Shareholders Association of Listed Companies (MISALICO) has sounded an alarm over Malawi’s sluggish capital market growth, calling on both government and private sector players to take deliberate steps to expand listings on the Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE).
With only 16 companies currently trading on the exchange, MISALICO says the situation is stifling investment opportunities and undermining the spirit of economic inclusivity that the stock market was created to promote.
Speaking at a press briefing in Blantyre on Thursday, the association’s Secretary General, Reverend Frank Harawa, described the low number of listed companies as “a serious economic concern” for a country with over 22 million citizens.
“The MSE has existed since 1994 but progress has been painfully slow. The stock market was established to help companies raise capital and give Malawians a chance to invest in their own economy. Yet, 30 years later, we are still talking about only 16 listings,” Harawa lamented.
He noted that recent public interest in buying shares has grown tremendously thanks to awareness campaigns by the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM), MISALICO and the Capital Markets Association (CMA).
However, the lack of new listings has caused a mismatch between demand and supply, leading to inflated share prices.
“For once, people are making money from the stock market, but the excitement risks fading if there are not enough companies to invest in,” Harawa cautioned.
He proposed that existing listed companies should consider issuing more shares through rights or bonus issues to meet rising investor appetite.
“Entities like NITL, Sunbird, National Bank and Press Corporation should expand their share base to allow more Malawians to participate,” he said.
The MISALICO official also questioned why several telecommunications and infrastructure firms have yet to fulfill legal obligations under the Communications Act, which mandates them to offer 20 percent of their shares to Malawians.
“Only TNM and Airtel have complied. Others, including tower companies, must follow suit,” he insisted.
Turning to state-owned enterprises, Harawa urged the government to partially list some of the country’s 70-plus parastatals, arguing that public listings could boost transparency and curb corruption.
“When companies list, they open themselves to public scrutiny through audited financials. That kind of accountability is healthy for the economy,” he said, citing ESCOM and Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) as ideal candidates for partial listing.
Harawa further proposed that large-scale mining companies operating in Malawi should list at least 20 percent of their shares locally.
He argued that such a move would allow Malawians from farmers to civil servants to directly benefit from the nation’s mineral wealth.
“It’s not right that foreign entities extract our gold and other minerals while locals watch from the sidelines. Listing these firms will give Malawians a chance to own part of the country’s natural resource story,” he emphasized.
Harawa concluded by saying that expanding the number of companies on the MSE would not only deepen the capital market but also drive a stronger culture of ownership, transparency and national economic empowerment.
MISALICO continues to champion the rights of minority shareholders, pushing for fairness, inclusivity, and accountability in Malawi’s evolving investment landscape.
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