MPICO Update

It is a relief for the MD of a newly listed company to have delivered on and exceeded its prospectus forecasts. In our case this increase was boosted by a very robust property market which saw year end valuations at a level much higher than anticipated in the IPO. Our other revenues were higher and costs lower so our distributable earnings also showed good growth and this has filtered through to the dividend which is now expected to be paid in July 2008 rather than the prospectus May declaration. Our occupancies cannot go much higher at 99% and this appears to be sustainable at least in the short term. Malawi's continued relatively stable economic environment, increased property valuations and high occupancies has heightened your Board's awareness of opportunities in the market. Our results announcement states we are looking at opportunities and at an appropriate time you will be updated with progress.

We have started putting our annual report together and for those of you registered on our website you will receive this and more news as soon as it is released. We are also approaching our AGM which can have very poor attendances from shareholders which we believe is sad because it is the only time that shareholders have the opportunity to ask their Board questions about the company in open forum. Of course every single announcement we make through our website invites your feedback, but it’s more rewarding to meet you in person. We expect our AGM to be held in LILONGWE towards the end of June so please make an effort to come along.

Our IPO focused investor relations website has now matured and we have over 700 visits a month from over a dozen countries but mostly from Malawi and the United Kingdom, the latter accounting for 25% of total traffic. Approximately 15% of the visits each month are from people coming to our website for the first time and overall, visitors spend more than 3.5 minutes digesting what we have to offer online. We receive little requests for additional information online so I assume that we are satisfying the needs of our investment community. When our annual report is released be sure to watch out for the updated content and factsheets etc. Our share price has fallen from its post IPO high in mid January to a relatively stable level with healthy volumes keeping the brokers busy and MPICO remains the most traded share on the MSE.

You will hear from me again closer to the release of our annual report.

Gray Nthinda - Managing Director
Malawi Property Investment Company Limited (MPICO)

African IPO Euphoria

With our share price coming off its post-IPO highs, its interesting to note how common the euphoria following IPOs in Malawi and in Africa is. Share prices rocket up way above their IPO share price and then finally settle down. Explaining why share prices rise so high is not possible other than to say that its a function of demand and supply and a whole lot of other things.

As a MD of a listed company I am reminded of our Boards responsibility to act in the long term interests of the company. MPICO as the largest property company in Malawi should be a part of everyone's long term portfolio and we are happy to note that we have a diverse base of local and international shareholders which will be an important part of our long term strategies. MPICO has taken a policy to pursue an active policy of making all information available to shareholders equally and as quickly as possible - the objective: to ensure that educated investment decisions can be made by investors on the long term value of our shares.I am pleased to say that our investor relations website is keeping our investors and stakeholders updated with all the information they need daily.

Looking at relative valuations of shares in Malawi it is worth noting that the make up of MPICO's profit after tax can be quite different to that of other companies in that, due to accounting convention, the increase in the value of our property portfolios are shown as profit in the income statement. In reality these revaluation profits are not readily available as cash unless properties are sold. Normal profits from renting properties are generally available as cash after taking into account the need to maintain and grow our property portfolio. A similar company to MPICO in valuation is the National Investment Trust Limited www.nitlmalawi.com as its share portfolio valuation gains are unrealised until the underlying shares are sold.

On the operating front all is going as planned at MPICO, Government of Malawi is up to date with their rentals and our occupancy rates have remained stable. Our prospectus assessment of the property markets in Lilongwe and Blantyre remain pretty much the same. We hope to release our results on February and we will communicate the date of our AGM as soon as we have set it. All shareholders are urged to attend. The dates in our calendar for the announcement of dividends all remain the same. As you are aware all of these events will be communicated to registered stakeholders automatically through our investor relations website.

Here's to a solid 2008.

Gray Nthinda - Managing Director
Malawi Property Investment Company Limited (MPICO)