Malawi is a small market in terms of foreign investor activity and the sub-custody business reflects this. A handful of foreign intermediaries have opened in the market but activity is minimal. There are two sub-custody providers in the Malawian market, a local bank and Standard Bank, the latter boasting a 60% market share.

“Enquiries on the market from foreign intermediaries are generally low but foreign investors and particularly newly established Pan-African funds are considering the Malawi market,” says Wilson Kuyokwa, manager of investor services, Standard Bank Malawi.

There have been some changes progressively happening in the Malawi market over the past year. December 2014 saw the introduction of the Automated Transfer System (ATS) and the Malawi Central Securities Depository (CSD). The CSD will act as a depository for all securities issued by Malawi’s government and reserve bank. The main objective for introducing the ATS and CSD is to increase efficiencies in the settlement of interbank financial obligations and securities transfers.