MACAUHUB NEWS SUMMARISED FOR MOZAMBIQUE From 06th August to the 12th August 2014 Mozambique to open consulate-general in Macau August 6th, 2014 Mozambique plans to open a consulate-general in Macau to “achieve closer business and cooperation relations”, the future head of that diplomatic mission, Rafael Custódio Marques, said on Tuesday in Macau. The consulate will open “as soon as administrative and logistical conditions are in place” and its site determined, which may happen “within one or two months,” explained Marques, who leads the Mozambican delegation that arrived in Macau on Sunday to handle the formalities, including the search for an appropriate premises. He added in comments to Lusa news agency that the opening of a consulate-general in Macau reflects “growing relations” between Mozambique and China, as well as “the importance” Mozambique assigns to Macau. The consulate-general will be Macau’s third pertaining to a Portuguese language country after those of Portugal and Angola. India’s ICVL aims to triple coal extraction in Mozambique August 7th, 2014 India’s International Coal Ventures Private Limited (ICVL) group, which acquired coal assets of the Anglo-Australian Rio Tinto group in Mozambique, aims to triple output at the Benga open-pit mine in Tete province within three years, the group’s chairman said. ICVL is comprised by the Indian state-owned firms Coal India, the Steel Authority of India, the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL). It exploits coking coal and other minerals and bio-energies on a partnership basis. C.S. Verma, who also chairs the Steel Authority of India, told Reuters financial agency that coal production at the mine would be upped to 13 million tons per year within that period. He added that the group would use existing logistics infrastructure in Mozambique to streamline operations and that it also wanted to take part in the development of projects such as new railways and ports, if necessary. The only current way to transport coal mined in Tete to the coast for export is via the Sena line. Its 6 million ton capacity will be doubled when ongoing work is completed. The new railway line linking Tete to the port north of Nacala is financed by Brazil’s Vale mining concern and nearing completion. If all goes according to schedule, the first trains carrying Vale coal to Nacala will begin to operate this coming September. Mozambique approves Brazilian loan to build dam The Mozambican government has approved a resolution to contract a US$320 million loan to build the Moamba-Major Dam in the Incomáti River Basin of Maputo province, the spokesman of the Council of Ministers said on Tuesday in Maputo. Vice-Minister of Justice Alberto Nkutumula explained that the loan granted by Brazil would enable construction of the dam, which would supply “more and better quality water to Greater Maputo and also for irrigation of farmland in the Maputo province region.” Construction work on the dam may last for five years. It will enable irrigated areas to expand and should consequently increase agricultural output in Maputo province by reducing producers’ dependence on seasonal factors such as the rains and local rivers. Mozambique forecasts more exports to the USA Mozambique’s exports to the United States may reach US$500 million in the next two years under the aegis of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a mechanism set up by Washington to facilitate the American market entry of products from African countries, Mozambique’s trade minister said. Minister Armando Inroga said the figure represented a major increase in Mozambican exports to the American market, which in the last five years have stood at around US$76 million. He made his comments on the sidelines of the summit meeting between the United States and African leaders held yesterday in Washington, where Mozambique was represented by President Armando Guebuza. US President Barack Obama announced during the summit assistance worth US$26 billion for Africa, with 14 billion earmarked for the banking, infrastructure construction and information technologies sectors, among others, and the remaining 12 billion for electrification programmes in various countries on the continent. American entrepreneurs have pointed to the question of infrastructures and the deficient electric power network in Africa as among major development constraints on the continent. The World Bank, for example, has indicated that Africa is only able to produce 30 percent of the energy it needs to make its development programmes feasible. World Bank announces US$75 million financing for Mozambique August 8th, 2014 The World Bank plans to donate US$50 million to improve the management system in Mozambique’s education and health sectors and also to finance development of the country’s financial sector with US$25 million, the institution has announced. In the first case, the donation is meant to assure more transparency and efficiency in spending to supply, store and distribute medicines, and in school management, indicates the statement released in Maputo. The financing agreement for the financial sector specifies that the organisation will provide outright half the agreed sum, or US$12.5 million, while opening a credit line for the same amount. The aim is to strengthen regulation and oversight of the Mozambican banking system, which currently counts 18 banking institutions along with the respective security network and crisis management framework. At the same time, the World Bank wants to streamline the markets for public sector securities and promote more expansion of financial services, whose inclusion rate stands at about 4.3 percent (900,000 people). Mozambique currently maintains loans of US$423 million from the World Bank, indicates information posted on the organisation’s website. Entrepreneurs from China and Portuguese language countries to meet in Maputo, Mozambique Representatives of chambers of commerce and official investment promotion agencies as well as businesspeople will meet in the Mozambican capital Maputo on 24-27 August for the 10th business meeting between China and the Portuguese language countries. The event will be held at the same time as the Maputo International Fair (Facim). The programme aims to promote trade relations and other forms of partnership, besides identifying investment opportunities and providing a look at the state of economic and business development in the countries involved. It derives from an agreement signed in 2003 by the trade ministers of China and all the Portuguese language countries (except São Tomé and Príncipe, which does not have diplomatic relations with Beijing) in the scope of Forum Macau. The Maputo ministerial meeting is the organisation’s tenth annual gathering and will focus on the industry, commerce, tourism, banking, fisheries, construction, infrastructure and renewable and non-renewable energy sectors. 2014 Maputo International Fair scheduled for 25-31 August The 50th Maputo International Fair (Facim) will be held from this coming 25 to 31 August, with the participation of 25 countries and territories confirmed to date, the head of the IPEX export promotion institute announced on Thursday in Maputo. Besides Brazil, Egypt, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Kenya, Macau, Malawi, Monaco, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, South Africa, Sweden, Tanzania, Thailand, Zambia and Zimbabwe, several countries are taking part for the first time or after an interruption, namely the Comoro Islands and Finland, Iceland and Norway. IPEX chairman João Macaringue said the site in Marracuene was completely full 20 days before the fair and that two countries were on the waiting list – Botswana and Pakistan. About 1,450 Mozambican and 650 foreign companies are registered so far, not counting those brought in by provincial trade and industry authorities. This year’s Maputo International Fair has an exhibition area of 47,000 square metres, versus 43,000 square metres in 2013, of which 27,600 square meters are covered space. The theme topic of the 50th Facim is “50 years exhibiting the economic potential of Mozambique.” Rio Tinto posts loss of US$53 million in Mozambique The Anglo-Australian Rio Tinto mining group has registered a US$53 million first half-year loss in its Mozambican coal project, whose main mineral assets were recently sold to International Coal Ventures Private Limited (ICVL), a group of Indian state-owned firms. Although revenue from the sale of coke and steam coal reached US$40 million, up 8 million year-on-year, the mining group again suffered losses, though less than in the first half-year of 2013, when it lost US$62 million. In the 2014 annual report on the group’s global operations, which indicated earnings of US$5.1 billion, Rio Tinto indicated it had invested US$9 million in the Mozambican project, in a context in which the company’s material assets were assessed at US$143 million. Rio Tinto justified the weak results as being due to falling international coking coal (US$132 per ton) and steam coal (US$76 per ton) prices, stressing that local production “was affected by constraints” in transportation (rail and port) and unexpected work stoppages caused by security problems. “Despite this, demand from the main markets of Japan, [South] Korea and Taiwan remained strong,” the text states, going on to inform the group’s investors that “the Benga coal mine and other projects in Tete province” were sold to ICVL for US$50 million at the end of last month. Despite negative results at the Benga mine, in which the Indian group Tata Steel Ltd holds a 35 percent stake, ICVL expects to increase annual production to 13 million tons within three years. Coking and steam coal production at the mine was not more than 1.6 million tons in 2013, indicate Rio Tinto reports released at the beginning of this year. ICVL was set up by the Indian government to purchase coal mines abroad and comprises several of the country’s leading public corporations, namely the Steel Authority of India Limited, Coal India Limited, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, National Minerals Development Corporation Limited and National Thermal Power Corporation Limited. Mozambican company with new stone processing line A new stone processing line has begun operating in Sofala province in response to growing demand in central Mozambique for use in public and private construction projects, the Maputo daily Notícias reports. The new line is the third operated by the company Produtora de Material de Construção (Promac) in the Mt Siluvo area. The US$460,000 investment has a capacity of 120 cubic metres per hour. Provincial governor Félix Paulo highlighted at the inauguration ceremony several projects planned for this year, such as the reconstruction and enlargement of National Road no. 6 over 288 km from the city of Beira to Machipanda on the border with Zimbambwe, for a cost of US$410,000. Paulo mentioned reconstruction of the Inchope/Caia section of National Road no. 1, set to begin in 2015, which will likewise consume a large amount of coarse aggregate produced by Promac. The Notícias article indicated that ongoing work to extend the 575 km long Sena railroad between the coal town of Moatize in Tete province and the port of Beira should benefit from the new production line, given that the project was suffering from a serious shortage of ballast. Promac director Rui Bernardo said a new production line was needed because the first one, with a capacity of 150 cubic metres per hour, dated to 1937 and was virtually obsolete, while the second relatively new one could only produce 80 cubic metres per hour. Indian consortium to invest US$300 million in Mozambican coal mine August 11th, 2014 India’s International Coal Ventures Ltd (ICVL) consortium plans to apply US$300 million to expansion of the Benga coal mine in Mozambique, the company’s executive chairman C.S. Verma told the newspaper The Times of India. Verma also heads the state-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL). He said the consortium has begun formal talks with the likewise Indian Tata Steel, which controls a 35 percent stake in that mine. The ICVL consortium includes the state-owned Steel Authority of India (SAIL), Rashtriya Ispat Nigam (RINL), National Minerals Development Corp (NMDC), Coal India and NTPC (previously known as the National Thermal Power Corporation). It acquired the company Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique for US$50 million. The latter company controlled the coal assets of the Anglo-Australian Rio Tinto group in Mozambique’s Tete region, namely the Benga mine (65 percent), the Zambeze mining concession and the Tete Leste exploration licences and associated coal exploration licences as well as Benga Energia. Verma told the newspaper that the top priority will be to increase production from the current 5 million tons per year to 11/12 million tons in the next three or four years and then 16 million tons a year later. To achieve that production increase the consortium will have to invest nearly US$300 million, he said. Regarding other coal assets, the ICVL chairman said they would only be evaluated in three or four years, “because our immediate priority is the Benga mine.” He announced that a team of 25 to 30 people would be sent to Mozambique to take control of the operations, adding that the first shipment of coal mined at Benga should reach India next December “at a price probably lower than what we are currently paying.” Mozambican government examining sale of Rio Tinto group assets The sale of Mozambican assets of the Rio Tinto mining group to an Indian group is being analysed, says Mozambican Mineral Resources Minister Esperança Bias, indicating that the government has received no official information to date. “Formally I don’t know how much Rio Tinto earned in the deal, but you can be sure that whatever amount is verified will be taxed for capital gains,” Bias said, cited by the Maputo daily Notícias. The Rio Tinto group recently announced that it had reached agreement to sell Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique to International Coal Ventures Private Limited (ICVL) for US$50 million. Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique controls Rio Tinto’s coal assets in the Tete region of Mozambique, specifically the Benga mine (65 percent stake), the Zambeze mining concession and Tete Leste exploration licences and associated coal exploration licences, as well as Benga Energia. ICVL is a consortium set up in India with the mission of acquiring coal and coal assets abroad, mainly to meet coal needs of the companies behind ICVL. ICVL is comprised by some of the largest state-owned corporations in India: the Steel Authority of India Limited, Coal India Limited, RashtriyaIspat Nigam Limited, National Minerals Development Corporation Limited and National Thermal Power Corporation Limited. India’s Sunflag group granted mining concession in Mozambique The Sol Mineração Moçambique company, a subsidiary of India’s Sunflag group, plans to invest US$222 million in a coal mine in the Mutarara district of Mozambique’s Tete province, Mineral Resources Minister Esperança Bias said in Maputo. At the contract signing ceremony, Bias specified that the concession granted to the Indian group was valid for 25 years and “attests to foreign investors’ confidence in Mozambique’s economic and business potential.” The director of Sol Mineração Moçambique, Ravibhusan Bhardwej, said feasibility studies revealed the presence of 115.46 million tons of coal, of which only 44.9 million tons can be commercialised, comprising 17.3 million tons of coking coal and 27.6 million tons of steam coal. The company aims to sell 0.8 million tons of coking coal and 1.2 million tons of steam coal per year, he added. The group’s main production unit is Sunflag Iron and Steel Co. Ltd. Its steel works in Bhandara annually produces 360,000 tons of special high quality steel. Chinese cooperation strengthens Mozambique’s agriculture sector China’s south-south cooperation programme for the area of agriculture is strengthening the sector in various African countries, among them Mozambique, Mozambican Vice-Minister of Agriculture António Limbau said on Friday in Maputo. During a meeting which considered a Chinese rural development and poverty reduction programme applied for the first time outside China, Limbau said it was “a unique opportunity which enabled us to learn about China’s progress, review success cases in various African countries and share the Mozambican government’s programme to implement its strategy plan for agrarian sector development.” The event was attended by representatives from 14 African countries. The programme included field trips to the Mozambique/China Investment and Technology Transfer Centre in Boane on the outskirts of Maputo and to a rice field in Gaza province developed with investment from the China Wanbao Oil & Grain Co. “The Wanbao Moçambique project has played an important role in transferring technological know-how to Mozambican farmers, helping increase their productivity and consequently that of others involved in the project,” Limbau explained. In his speech, Chinese government representative Zhang Zhengwei reiterated his country’s commitment to support the south-south cooperation programme in the agriculture sector, exemplified by the fact that the event was held for the first time outside China. Japan’s Suburu to return to Mozambique The Japanese company Subaru aims to return to the Mozambique market, its representative in Mozambique, Chris Grobler, announced last week, as reported by the Maputo daily Notícias. The Subaru representative indicated that he has been in Mozambique for some time, researching possible investment areas beyond the traditional automobile sector. Grobler said that one area identified was tourism, where steps have begun to be taken with specific projects in Macaneta, in Maputo’s Marracuene district. Besides the automobile industry, Subaru also invests in industry, civil aviation and infrastructures. New legislation calls for 25 percent of extracted oil and gas to remain in Mozambique August 12th, 2014 At least 25 percent of oil and gas extracted in Mozambique must be destined for the domestic market, per the proposed Petroleum Law revision approved in general terms by the Mozambican parliament on Monday. The proposed revision of Law no. 03/2001 of 21 February, submitted to the National Assembly after approval by the Council of Ministers, specifies that the government should ensure that Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH), the state’s representatives in oil and gas negotiations, plays a decisive role in promoting and commercialising those products. The Maputo daily Notícias reported that the Petroleum Law’s proposed revision significantly modifies the document approved in 2001, taking into account the country’s current social, economic and political situation. The document states that “oil operations are practiced via a concession contract resulting from public tender, simultaneous negotiation or direct negotiation,” and that “the granting of rights to carry out petroleum operations must always respect national interests vis-à-vis defence, navigation, research and preservation of marine resources, existing economic activities and the environment in general.” Mineral Resources Minister Esperança Bias said during the proposed revision’s presentation that one of the government’s challenges regarding petroleum exploitation is to grant a percentage of generated revenue to the state to benefit communities in project areas, with title-holders urged to acquire local goods and/or services. Chilean president visits Angola and Mozambique to strengthen bilateral ties Chilean President Michelle Bachelet arrived in Luanda on Monday for a 24-hour visit to Angola, following a visit to Mozambique where she re-launched the bilateral memorandum of understanding signed six years ago. In Luanda Bachelet is expected to review with Angolan authorities the main areas where Chile aims to cooperate with Angola. Chile’s recently appointed ambassador in Angola, Gabriel Zepeda, mentioned agriculture, technology interchange and mining. Zepeda explained that the opening of a Chilean diplomatic mission in Angola was on the agenda of President Bachelet’s visit and that the matter would be discussed with her Angolan counterpart. In Maputo the governments of Mozambique and Chile re-launched the memorandum of understanding signed six years ago and will strengthen cooperation in the areas of fisheries, health, women, social action, mineral resources and energy. Bachelet arrived in Maputo on Sunday, where she met with the community of nearly a hundred Chileans resident in Mozambique, placed a wreath at the Heroes Monument and visited Mavalane Central Hospital before meeting with her Mozambican counterpart, Armando Guebuza. Her visit to Mozambique was the first by a Chilean head of state. The trip had previously taken her to South Africa; from Mozambique she flew to Angola. World Bank warns of Mozambique’s economic ‘vulnerability’ The Mozambican economy should grow at a pace above the average for sub-Sahara African countries in 2014, but “remains vulnerable” to risks associated to metal and energy prices, warns the World Bank in the recently released “Mozambican Economic Update”. Although it does not provide a growth forecast for Mozambique in 2014, the organisation does envisage that gross domestic product (GDP) should expand “well above” the average of the regional economy, which the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates will grow by about 5.5 percent. The World Bank nevertheless stresses that even though high-income economies are showing signs of recovery, demand for Mozambican exports is not accompanying that trend. This heightens the country’s vulnerability to metal and energy prices on international markets and may even impact investments in the country as well as its growth, which the IMF estimates will reach 8.3 percent in 2014. Regarding the Mozambican economy’s performance in the first quarter of the year, the financial institution highlights the “strong growth” of GDP, on the order of 7.5 percent, much higher than in the previous three months, though lower than the 9.1 percent expansion rate recorded in the year-on-year period. The World Bank also notes increased state tax revenue which reached about US$1.051 billion at the end of March, boosted by the collection of capital gains taxes on transactions in the natural gas sector amounting to nearly US$150 million. The organisation also indicates that the country’s current account deficit stood at US$1.100 billion in the first quarter, down about US$200 million year-on-year. Without going into details, the World Bank notes that exports of “aluminium, sugar and other goods” declined, amid a situation where exported products lost about US$200 million of their value. This can be explained by lower coal prices on international markets. Bank of Mozambique keeps benchmark interest rates unchanged The Bank of Mozambique has kept the main benchmark interest rates unchanged, among them the marginal lending facility at 8.25 percent, the Mozambican central bank indicated in a statement released on Monday in Maputo. The interest rate for the liquidity absorption facility was kept at 1.50 percent and the compulsory reserve ratio at 8 percent, per decisions made at the latest meeting of the central bank’s monetary committee. The committee affirms in the statement that inflation prospects in the short and medium term indicate that the year’s objectives should be attained, due to positive consumer price performance and the metical currency’s stability in the domestic exchange market. The Bank of Mozambique’s monetary policy committee also decided to intervene in the interbank market to hold the circulating money supply at no more than 52.758 billion meticais at the end of this August. Macauhub News Agency
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 08:06:45 +0000
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