Malawi President Joyce Banda has called for more Chinese investors to Malawi, saying this would contribute to the country’s Economic Recovery Plan (ERP).

The Malawi president said this over the weekend during the official opening of the state of the art shopping mall owned by Chinese company Sogecoa in capital Lilongwe.

President Banda said the opening of the new shopping mall marked another mile stone of Chinese investment in Malawi following the opening of the 4-Star Golden Peacock Hotel in 2011 owned by the same Sogecoa Company in the capital.

“I would like to encourage more Chinese investors to come and invest in Malawi,” said President Banda. “This will help us achieve our goals as laid in the Economic Recovery Plan (ERP).”

She said the opening of the shopping mall which is worth over 15.4 million US dollars meant creation of more jobs for Malawians.

Banda also urged the management of the Sogecoa Company to ensure that they promote the local agricultural industry by purchasing local produce such as tomatoes and the rest of the other vegetables.

She further urged Malawians to work hard and strive for the best citing Chinese economy as a living example of the achievements of patriotism and hard work.

The Malawi president said: “Just over two decades ago China’s economy was not as it is. But their current status did not just come; it was through hard work. “So I would like to challenge all Malawians to produce more from your fields and exhaust this newly opened shopping mall.”

In his remarks, Chinese Ambassador to Malawi Pan Hejun said the Chinese government would encourage more investors to Malawi to help increase the developing southern African country’s employment base.

“As Malawi’s development partner, the People’s Republic of China will continue to bring Chinese investors with good reputation to Malawi so that we create more jobs for the people of Malawi,” said the Chinese ambassador.

Pan noted that Malawi-China trade had grown tremendously from 2007 to 2012 and he expressed optimism that trade between the two countries would continue to grow in the years to come.

The opening of the Sogecoa Shopping Mall in Malawi capital comes two weeks after the Chinese government handed over a 101 km tarmac road to Malawi, covering the distance between the two northern border districts, Karonga and Chitipa.

Phase 2 of the Sogecoa Shopping Mall will be opened in March 2013, according to the company’s management.