The government will buy back securities worth K40.7 billion from individual and institutional investors as a public debt management strategy, as Finance Minister Joseph Mwanamvekha hailed the idea as a means to retire expensive short-term debt and opt for cheaper long-term debts.

The Reserve Bank of Malawi has announced that it will oversee the deals, as a directive from the Ministry. “Under instructions from the Ministry of Finance, the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) wishes to notify the general public that it will repurchase securities with ISIN numbers TN05YR240920 and TN05YS240920 through a reverse auction amount of K40.7 billion.” reads part of the statement.

Mwanamvekha also added that the move will help ease pressure on fiscal authorities. “We now want to borrow long term at cheaper interest. This will help ease pressure on us as we will have to repay long-term at cheaper rates,” Mwanamvekha said.