Malawi Centralizes Payments for Tobacco, Daily Times Reports

By Brian Latham

June 16 (Bloomberg) -- All foreign currency payments for
tobacco sold in Malawi will now be made through the central bank,
the Daily Times said, citing a statement from the country's
First Discount House Ltd.

Tobacco earnings, which are paid in U.S. dollars,
previously went direct to commercial banks in the southern
African nation, the Lilongwe-based newspaper said on its Web
site. The change will allow Malawi's central bank to control the
flow of foreign exchange into the country, the Daily Times added.

Malawi is Africa's biggest exporter of burley tobacco.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Brian Latham via the Johannesburg bureau at
asguazzin@bloomberg.net.