Press Corporation Limited


Press Corporation Limited, also Press Corporation Plc, is a business conglomerate, partly owned by Press Trust, a sovereign trust fund, of the government of Malawi, that is outside of the direct control of the Malawian government. Press Corporation Limited is the largest conglomerate in Malawi, and has ownership in 15 companies in Malawi, including 8 subsidiaries, 4 joint ventures and one associate company.

Location

The headquarters of the company are located on the 3rd Floor, Press Corporation Limited House, Kaohsiung Road, Blantyre, Malawi. The geographical coordinates of Press Corporation's headquarters are:15°47'33.0"S, 35°00'34.0"E.

Overview

Press Corporation Limited is a business conglomerate that serves as a holding company to fifteen Malawian businesses. It is the largest business conglomerate in the country. As of 31 December 2018, Press Corporation Limited had MWK:271,162,000,000 worth of assets under management.

History

The company was founded in 1961, as Malawi Press Limited, a publishing Company. The company expanded rapidly, and by 1979 it had stakes in 17 subsidiary companies and 23 associated companies. The rapid expansion however, had been funded by excessive short-term borrowing and soon faced a financial crisis.
In 1983 company was restructured on the orders of the then President of the country, Hastings Kamuzu Banda. After discussions with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, a new company, Press Group Limited, was incorporated on 27 February 1984 in Blantyre as a holding company. Press Corporation Limited was incorporated on the same day, as a 100 percent subsidiary of Press Group Limited.
Press Group Limited, is in turn owned by Press Trust, a sovereign charitable organization in Malawi, incorporated it on 5 March 1982.

Subsidiaries

The list below outlines the subsidiary, joint venture and associate companies of Press Corporation Limited.
  1. National Bank of Malawi: 51.5 percent shareholding.
  2. Telekom Networks of Malawi Limited
  3. Malawi Telecommunications Limited
  4. Presscane Limited
  5. People's Trading Centre Limited
  6. Press Properties Limited
  7. Manzini Limited
  8. The Foods Company Limited
  9. Open Connect Limited
  10. Ethanol Company Limited
  11. Castel Malawi Limited
  12. Limbe Leaf Tobacco Company Limited
  13. Sunbird Tourism Plc: 10 percent shareholding
  14. Macsteel Malawi Limited  
  15. Press Corporation Limited/PUMA Energy International Joint Venture.

    Ownership

The shares of stock of Press Corporation Limited are listed on the Malawi Stock Exchange, where they trade under the symbol PCL. The tale below illustrates the major shareholders in the stock of Press Corporation Plc, as at 31 December 2018.
RankShareholderPercentageNotes-
1Press Trust45.45-
2Public19.83-
3Deutsche Bank Trust Company America18.88-
4Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Limited15.84-
Total100.00

Governance

Patrick W. Khembo is the chairman of the board of directors. George Patridge serves as the Group Chief Executive of the conglomerate.