MACAUHUB NEWS SUMMARISED FOR MOZAMBIQUE From 15th October to 23th October 2013 Mozambican electricity company plans to buy power produced in Tete by Ncondezi Energy October 15th, 2013 British company Ncondezi Energy has signed a contract with Mozambican state power company Electricidade de Moçambique (EdM) to buy and distribute electricity produced at the coal-fired power station that is due to be built in the country, the company said in a statement. Under the terms of the agreement, which sets tariffs and other conditions, EdM will be the 300 megawatts of electricity produced in the first phase of the project, for a period of 25 years. Ncondezi Energy also signed a 25-year coal supply contract with Ncondezi Coal. The Ncondezi integrated coal mine and thermal power plant project is located in Tete province and will be carried out in phases of 300 megawatts each up to a total of 1,800 megawatts. Construction of the power plant is due to begin in 2017 and commercial operation is expected to begin in the following year. India and Mozambique due to be linked by air soon India may soon be linked by direct flights to Mozambique after a civil aviation contract is signed by the two countries, said Mozambique’s ambassador to India, José Maria Morais. At an India-Mozambique business meeting organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the ambassador said that as soon as Mozambican airline Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (LAM) decides which Indian city it wants to fly to, the agreement will be signed. Cited by the New India Express, Morais called on Indian industrial business owners to invest in Mozambique and added that companies that export motorcycles and bicycles to Mozambique should consider investing in manufacturing them locally. Noting that India had opened up a credit line worth US$800 million, the ambassador said that Mozambique, as well as being one of the fastest growing economies in the world had extensive resources, particularly in the mining sector, in which Indian companies already have an interest. Baobab Resources sells shares to fund mining projects in Mozambique Redbird Investments, a subsidiary of African Minerals Exploration & Development SICAR SCA, is set to buy 5 million shares in Australian mining company Baobab Resources, under the terms of a contract announced last week. Issuing these shares will provide Baobab Resources with a cash injection, before costs, of 750,000 pounds, which it plans to use to conclude final feasibility studies for its pig iron project in Mozambique. The company plans to produce pig iron with low levels of impurities from iron ore deposits in Tenge/Ruoni in the central Mozambican province of Tete as well as thermal coal, and expects to produce 2 million tons of pig iron per year. Once this financial operation is concluded, Redbird Investments will have 26.8 percent voting rights in Baobab Resources compared to 26.73 percent at the moment. The companies also agreed to place another 8.5 million shares with Redbird Investments, which needs shareholder approval and would provide Baobab with 1.275 billion pounds before expenses. Under the terms of the contract that was signed, Redbird Investments will also be given an option to subscribe up to 27 million ordinary shares, increasing its stake in the company to 37.85 percent. Work due to begin on BP oil terminal at the port of Beira in Mozambique BP’s oil terminal at the Mozambican port of Beira needs investments to be made in it in order to respond to growing demand in central Mozambique and from neighbouring Zimbabwe and Malawi, said the managing director of BP Mozambique. At a session to present the environmental impact study, carried out by Mozambican company Impacto, Martinho Guambe said that the group would invest US$22 million in the terminal in order to give it more reception and storage capacity. The project, which is due to begin in mid-December and be finished in the first half of 2015, includes construction of five tanks, repair of another two tanks, installing new equipment and accessories and a security and fire-fighting system. The terminal, which was built in 1930, currently has seven tanks, five of which will be demolished as they do not meet international operating safety standards for fuel terminals. At the beginning of October, BP’s director for Southern Africa, Thandi Orleyn, announced that the group would invest US$85 million in Mozambique over the next five years in new projects and in modernising facilities in the country. “The biggest portion of the investment, US$75 million, will be spent on modernisation of infrastructure in order to improve the safety and reliability of shipments to the port terminals of Nacala, Beira and Matola,” Orleyn said. BP currently has an 18 percent share of Mozambique’s fuel market, with the sale of 240 million litres of fuel per year. Mozambican postal company climbs out of crisis by diversifying its services Mozambican postal company Correios de Moçambique is about to leave behind the crisis it had faced since 2009 because of a downturn in demand for postal services, said company director Valdemar Jessen cited by daily newspaper Notícias. Valdemar Jessen, who is responsible for Management and Finance at the company, said that, whilst in 2009 the company had posted a loss of 8 million meticals, a focus on diversification of its services had improved the situation in 2010 and 2011. In 2012, the company posted a small loss after investing in the refurbishment of its real estate assets, information and communication technologies a transport. “With the investments we carried out we are in a state of equilibrium between revenues and expenses,” the director noted, adding that the company was working on further diversifying its businesses, “in order to overcome our difficulties.” Speaking about the Postal Bank, Jessen said that the process of setting it up now only depended on bureaucratic issues, which should be resolved by the beginning of 2014. Correios de Moçambique has a 30 percent stake in postal bank Banco Postal de Moçambique, whose partners include insurance company Empresa Moçambicana de Seguros, social security institute Instituto Nacional de Segurança Social and the Transport and Communications Fund. Sale of 10 pct of Mozambican insurance company Empresa Moçambicana de Seguros sees demand of 107.47 pct October 17th, 2013 The Initial Public Offering (IPO) of 10 percent of shares representing the capital of Mozambican insurance company Empresa Moçambicana de Seguros (Emose) has had demand of 107.47 percent, or 7.47 percent more than the available shares, and the operation netted the company US$10 million, the Maputo stock Exchange said Wednesday. The IPO, which was exclusively for Mozambican investors, is the result of the sale of 10 percent of the State’s stake in Emose, and the State now has 39 percent of the country’s oldest insurance company. According to a statement published by the Mozambican Stock Exchange (BVM), the offer of 15.7 million ordinary shares, at a unit price of 20 meticals received over 16.8 million buy orders. The operation, which was organised by Mozambican bank Banco Comercial de Investimentos (BCI), the operation was launched on 23 September and ended last Wednesday, attracting 1,110 investors – “1,064 individuals and 46 companies” – who had to subscribe a minimum of 50 shares. The shares are due to be listed and available to trade on the stock exchange on 28 October. Set up in 1977 following the merger of three colonial era insurance companies – Nauticus, Lusitana and Tranquilidade de Moçambique – until now Emose’s shareholders were the Mozambican State (49 percent), State stake-holding company IGPE (31 percent) and the Emose Workers’ Cooperative (20 percent). Businesspeople from Austria analyse business opportunities in Mozambique Austrian businesspeople plan to invest in Mozambique in sectors such as mining, processing agricultural products and rail and port facilities, the Mozambican press said as it reported on visit by a delegation of 20 businesspeople from Austria. The Austrian businesspeople travelled to Mozambique to find ways of working with Mozambican businesspeople and took part in a meeting in Maputo with members of the Confederation of Economic Associations and representatives of the Austrian embassy in Mozambique. This business mission is the response to a visit to Austria last February by a group of Mozambican businesspeople, headed up by the Minister for Industry and Trade. Eva Kohl, the Austrian embassy’s development attaché, said that the sector of interest to the Austrian businesspeople were varied but gave mining as an example as well as processing agricultural products as well as construction of infrastructure such as railways, roads and ports. Tax revenues from tourism in Mozambique account for 5 to 6 pct of total Tax revenues from tourism in Mozambique account for between 5 percent and 6 percent of total tax revenues, and that contribution is expected to rise to 7 percent or more in 2013, the Mozambican Tourism Minister, Carvalho Muária. Speaking on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the 1st International Tourism Fair held from 10 to 13 October, the minister compared Mozambique to some other ocuntries by saying, “we are not doing badly in terms of tourism in the Southern African Development Community.” According to Carvalho Muária the fair was intended to promote the potential of national tourism, culture and cuisine. Referring to the tourism sector in Mozambique, the minister, cited by Mozambican daily newspaper Notícias, said that he saw the sector in positive terms. “It’s true that we still have challenges, but a lot has been done. The is currently no district that doe snot have at least one accommodation unit and five or 10 years ago there were many districts that didn’t have a single unit,” he noted. He noted that the main challenges for the sector were gathering and processing information about the tourists that seek Mozambique out as a destination as well as improving the facilities that drive tourism development, such as by building and repairing roads and airports. Portuguese group invests 30 million euros in real estate project in Mozambique Portuguese real estate group Promovalor Investimentos said Wednesday it had invested 30 million euros in its first project in Mozambique, a building with apartments, offices and shops in Maputo. In a statement the group said that the “Platinum” project had been carried out in partnership with Rioforte, an investment subsidiary of the Espírito Santo group and with Mozambican construction company MMD Construções. “As well as focusing on projects in Portugal and Brazil, we are still identifying countries and markets that fit with out internationalisation strategy, and ‘Platinum’ is the Promovalor group’s entry in the Mozambican market,” the group’s chief executive, Tiago Vieira said in the statement. Mozambican ambassador to China calls for cooperation with Jiangsu province October 18th, 2013 The Mozambican ambassador to China, António Inácio Júnior said Thursday in Macau that there should be more cooperation between Portuguese-speaking countries and the Chinese province of Jiangsu, according to the Macau press. At the opening ceremony of a summit on trade development between the Portuguese-speaking countries, Jiangsu province and Macau, the ambassador said that the Portuguese-speaking countries could benefit from cooperation with Jiangsu, which is one of the wealthiest provinces in China and has a population of 75 million. “The climate conditions of the province are ideal for agricultural production, for which the province is number one in the country, and partnerships can be set up for cooperation in the agricultural sector,” the ambassador said. At the end of the meeting, the governor of Jiangsu province signed a memorandum of understanding with the Business Leaders of Brazil Group (LIDE). Cotton production in Mozambique falls to less than 100,000 tons Production of seed cotton in Mozambique in the recently concluded agricultural campaign is expected to be less than 100,000 tons, which is a drop of 84,000 tons compared to production in the previous campaign, the assistant national direct of the Mozambican Cotton Institute said. At a training seminar held last week in Namialo, Nampula province, Gabriel Papusseco played down the results by saying that the drop in production was due to factors that were easy to identify. He noted important factors such as the price offered of 10.5 meticals per kilo as compared to 15 meticals per kilo in the previous campaign as well as irregular rainfall. Although there was a lot of rain in January and February in some large cotton producing areas, which made it difficult to clear land and treat the plants against pests, in April and May the rain stopped, which severely affected crop growth. Large production levels in the two previous campaigns made it difficult for companies to sell all of the seed cotton and Papusseco said that the situation had de-motivated some producers who then opted not to plant cotton this time. Capacity of Mozambique’s Sena railroad to triple by 2015 Repair and refurbishment work on the Sena railroad in Mozambique, intended to increase its cargo capacity from 6.5 million tons a year to 20 million tons, began this week according to Mozambican daily newspaper Notícias. Work on the railway linking Moatize, in Tete province, to the port of Beira in Sofala province, including the Inhamitanga/Marromeu branchline, and covering a total of 575 kilometres, is due to be finished in February 2015. The director of the team rebuilding the Sena railroad, Sancho Quipiço, said that the work would make way for average rail traffic of 10 or 11 trains with six locomotives and 100 trucks, compared to two locomotives and 42 trucks at the moment. The Sena railroad is the main transport route for the coal mined in Tete province by Brazilian group Vale and Anglo-Australian group Rio Tinto. Bank of Mozambique reduces bank lending rate to 8.25 pct The Bank of Mozambique has reduced the interest rate on its permanent liquidity facility by 0.5 percentage points to 8.25 percent, explaining its decision by the “favourable trajectory” of gross domestic product (GDP) and of inflation, the central bank said. This is the third cut by the Bank of Mozambique to the benchmark bank loan rate this year. Meanwhile, the permanent deposit facility rate remains unchanged at 1.50 percent and the required reserve rate at 8.0 percent. In a statement sent to Macauhub in Maputo, the central bank noted recent estimates from the National Statistics Institute that “showed that the country’s GDP had risen, in anual terms, by 8.7 percent in the second half of 2013, which is an increase of 4.3 percentage points against the previous quarter and of 1.1 percentage points against the same period of last year.” The central bank also noted a slowdown in accumulated and annual inflation to 1.48 percent and 4.25 percent, respectively, “whilst average inflation stood at 3.85 percent, after 3.60 percent in August.” The Bank of Mozambique also said that “provisional information for September showed that net foreign reserves had increase by around US$5.33 million, rising to a total of US$2.8 billion.” The bank also said it would “intervene in interbank markets to ensure that cash in circulation does not exceed 44.7 billion meticals at the end of October 2013.” Cashew nuts in Mozambique to be allocated benchmark price October 21st, 2013 From 2014 onwards cashew nuts will be allocated a benchmark sale price in Mozambique, the director of the National Cashew Institute (Incaju), Filomena Maiópuè said recently in Nampula. Setting a price is intended to encourage producers and is expected to have an impact on production levels and the quality of the product across the country. Maiopué said that Incaju was drawing up a proposal to review current cashew sales regulations, which have been in place for around 10 years. This process also involves other partners, such as the Association of Cashew Industrialists (Aicaju). The director of Incaju said it would be possible to achieve consensus on the review by the beginning of 2014, after which it would be sent to the technical council of the Agriculture Ministry for assesment and then be sent on to the Council of Ministers for approval. “Cashew nut producers will be better off through the allocation of a fair price to their product and this move by Incaju is an effort to reduce poverty in rural areas,” said Maiopué. Cashew nuts in Mozambique to be allocated benchmark price From 2014 onwards cashew nuts will be allocated a benchmark sale price in Mozambique, the director of the National Cashew Institute (Incaju), Filomena Maiópuè said recently in Nampula. Setting a price is intended to encourage producers and is expected to have an impact on production levels and the quality of the product across the country. Maiopué said that Incaju was drawing up a proposal to review current cashew sales regulations, which have been in place for around 10 years. This process also involves other partners, such as the Association of Cashew Industrialists (Aicaju). The director of Incaju said it would be possible to achieve consensus on the review by the beginning of 2014, after which it would be sent to the technical council of the Agriculture Ministry for assesment and then be sent on to the Council of Ministers for approval. “Cashew nut producers will be better off through the allocation of a fair price to their product and this move by Incaju is an effort to reduce poverty in rural areas,” said Maiopué. Rio Tinto Coal Moçambique buys locomotives and rail trucks to carry more coal Rio Tinto Coal Moçambique (RTCM), a subsidiary of Anglo-Australian group Rio Tinto, has purchased four new locomotives and 110 railway trucks to carry coal mined in Benga, said a company official cited by the Mozambican press. The 110 trucks and two of the new locomotives are already operating in the Sena railroad and the final two locomotives are due to arrive in Mozambique in November. Carlos Galego, director of RTCM’s coal chain, said, “this new rolling stock is intended to keep up with improvements to the Sena line and will increase RTCM’s coal transport capacity.” Repair and refurbishment work on the Sena railroad in Mozambique, intended to increase its cargo capacity from 6.5 million tons a year to 20 million tons, recently began. Work on the railway linking Moatize, in Tete province, to the port of Beira in Sofala province, including the Inhamitanga/Marromeu branchline, and covering a total of 575 kilometres, is due to be finished in February 2015. The Sena railroad is the main transport route for the coal mined in Tete province by Brazilian group Vale and Anglo-Australian group Rio Tinto. World Bank to support project by Portuguese pulp and paper group Portucel, in Mozambique The International Financial Corporation (IFC) and Portucel Moçambique Tuesday signed an agreement related to a forestry and industrial project in central Mozambique, costing an estimated US$2.3 billion, the IFC said. In a statement the IFC, an arm of the World Bank group for the private sector, said that the focus of the agreement was a project in Mozambique by Portucel for a eucalyptus plantation, paper and energy production, worth US$2.3 billion. This investment by the Portuguese group is expected to create around 7,500 jobs in the provinces of Manica and Zambézia. “The IFC will provide Portucel with advisory services, including social and environmental impact assessments, commitments to the community and community development planning,” the statement said. Traffic at port of Maputo increase four-fold in nine years Traffic at the port of Maputo rose almost four-fold between 2003 and 2012, but the facility and its associated transport corridor still have potential to grow, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) reported. In a recent report on Mozambique, the EIU said that “a lot of progress was made” in setting up conditions to increase goods traffic at the port, which resulted in growth of 275 percent between 2003 and 2012, to 15 million tons of cargo per year, which even so is less than the record of 17 million tons per year in 1971. Empresa de Desenvolvimento do Porto de Maputo, which is controlled by Dubai Ports World and South African logistics company Grindrod, and state port and rail manager Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique, expects traffic to reach 40 million tons over the next six years and expects investments to total US$750 million by 2038. “We expect business and investment in the port and in the associated corridor to continue to increase, but it will stay at below potential,” the EIU said The Maputo Corridor includes the Johannesburg industrial hub and the South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, which border Mozambique. Support facilities such as opening the Ressano Garcia border on a 24-hour basis, have yet to be put in place. “The current congestion at the Ressano Garcia border post has been a significant obstacle to trade,” the EIU said. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in its latest report gave the Maputo Corridor as a success story, but also noted that trade needed to be liberalised. The level of economic growth expected over the next few years – around 7.9 percent between 2014 and 2017 according to the EIU – will be the result of coal mining projects and investment in new transport facilities. “Transport, communications, industry and Services, will grow significantly,” said the EIU. Indonesian company buys 75 percent stake in oil block in Mozambique October 22nd, 2013 Indonesian company PT Energi Mega Persada Tbk. (Enrg) has acquired a 75 percent stake in the exploration, production and concession contract (EPCC) for oil and gas in the Buzi block, in partnership with Mozambican state company Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH), which will own the remaining 25 percent, the Jakarta Post reported. The stake in the block, which cost the Indonesian company US$175 million, which will be cash and bank loan funded, is expected to launch production in 2017. According to the newspaper, the block attracted attention from international oil sector groups, particularly after a natural gas deposit of 283 billion cubic feet was found there. It is possible that the block may contain another 13.4 trillion cubic feet. The chairman of Enrg, Iman Agustino, said in a statement that Mozambique was becoming a new big player in the natural gas sector, after deposits of over 170 trillion cubic feet of natural gas were discovered in the north of the country, “and may become the world’s third-largest supplier of natural gas.” Australia’s Triton Minerals granted new graphite mining license in Mozambique Australian company Triton Minerals has expanded the area in which it is prospecting for graphite after being granted another exploration license in Mozambique, the company said in a statement issued in Perth Monday. “The granting of Exploration License 5966 now provides the Company the ability to start exploring the highly prospective graphite area of Nicanda Hill Prospect,” managing director Brad Boyle said. In the statement Boyle said that geological mapping had identified some graphite exposures in an area roughly 3.75 kilometres long. According to the statement, “the company is now redefining its exploration programme to obtain a better understanding of substructures and to test continuity of graphite mineralisation between the Cobra Plains Prospect on License 5365 and Nicanda Hill Prospect on License 5966, which now spans over 10 kilometres in length. Natural resources in Mozambique attract US$5 billion in investment October 23rd, 2013 Exploration of natural resources in Mozambique, in which US$5 billion has been invested, has created 15,000 jobs over the last five years, Mozambique’s Natural Resources Minister said. During a public consultation meeting on policies and strategies for natural resources and social responsibility of mining companies, Minister Esperança Bias also said that mining natural resources had also led to over US$1 billion in tax revenues. Bias added that investments were expected to continue to grow, with the execution of several projects already underway and new companies entering the mining and oil and gas sectors all the time. Mozambique produces ad exports natural gas to the regional market, mainly to South Africa, as well as minerals extracted from heavy sands, coal and precious stones that are sold all over the world. Asia is the main market for coal mined in Tete province by groups Vale and Rio Tinto. The documents discussed Tuesday are due to be submitted soon to the Council of Ministers for final appreciation and approval, Mozambican newspaper Notícias reported. Portuguese consortium and Mozambican company plan to operate in IT sector A consortium made up of Portuguese companies MeiosTec and CiNet in 2014 plans to establish a partnership with Mozambican consulting company MD, said Luís Pereira, the chief executive of MeiosTec. “MeiosTec and CiNet decided this year to enter Mozambique, similarly to Angola and Cape Verde, finding support from a local partner [MD Consultores], and the move will be made next year,” he told Portuguese new agency Lusa. Founded in 1997, MeiosTec is a company that integrates engineering services into the Information Technology sector, whilst CilNet, founded in 2000, is an engineering company that provides services to the IT sector. MD Consultores, which was set up in 2001, is a Mozambican company specialised in providing consultancy, company management and administration services in general, as well as information systems management services. In 2013 Mozambique is expected to have one of the biggest rates of growth in terms of investment in Information and Communication Technology – 14.2 percent compared to overall growth of 6 percent and of 12.8 percent in emerging economies. Mozambican government closes down two state companies Road and bridge construction and maintenance company Empresa de Construção e Manutenção de Estradas e Pontes (ECMP) and equipment leasing company Empresa de Aluguer de Equipamento (EAE), responsible to the Mozambican Ministry for Public Works and Housing, have been closed down, a council of ministers spokesman said Tuesday in Maputo. Alberto Nkutumula said that the approval of the decree to close down the companies was the most practical solution as the two companies, even after being restructured, still had an overly heavy structure with an excessive number of workers and debts of around 700 million meticals (US$23 million). Cited by Mozambican news agency AIM, Nkutumula said that in the meantime new construction companies with modern equipment had been set up, which had the business of the two companies unviable. The two companies, which were not competitive enough to be awarded construction projects, had stopped paying workers’ salaries, making social security payments and paying of debts to suppliers. Macauhub News Agency Address: Av. Infante D. Henrique, 43-53 A The Macau Square, 8th Floor – L Macau Phone: (853) -28355315/6 Fax: (853) -28355466 E-Mail: [email protected] MACAUHUB NEWS SUMMARISED FOR MOZAMBIQUE From 09th October to 15th October 2013 Israel’s Mer Group to expand mobile phone network in Mozambique October 9th, 2013 Israel’s Mer Group has been awarded a turnkey contract to supply telecommunications towers for two of the three mobile phone operators in Mozambique, the group said in a statement issued Monday. According to the statement, the contract signed with state company Moçambique Celular (mCel) and Vodacom stipulates that the Israeli group is responsible for designing, supplying and building the towers and designing and installing hybrid power systems for their operation. The group’s telecommunications division has already set up a warehouse and other facilities, and is now hiring staff, including IT systems engineers and telecommunications tower specialists. Noting that there was a lot of room for growth in Mozambique as the penetration rate stands at 49 percent, the Mer Group said that once work was finished, the two operators would have a bigger and better quality mobile phone and data transmission network. Founded in 1948, the Mer Group controls a number of subsidiary companies focused on three main areas – telecommunications, security and clean technology. Moody’s says Angola and Mozambique plan to issue debt on international markets Angola and Mozambique are expected to issue sovereign debt on the international financial markets this year or in the near future, rating agency Moody’s said in a special report on African debt issues, published Tuesday. “We have identified six countries in sub-Saharan Africa that we believe will begin issuing sovereign debt on international markets in the next few years,” Moody’s said, listing Angola, Mozambique, Cameroon, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and noting that each country would be looking to net at least US$500 million. By issuing bonds these countries will be listed on the JP Morgan EMBIG index, which, moody’s said, “will not only help to increase their visibility amongst a wider range of investors, but also set a benchmark yield for local companies and banks that want to issue international bonds.” With average economic growth of 5 to 6 percent in the next few years, according to estimates by Moody’s analysts, these African countries are, however, not expected to use bond issues as their main source of finance. Angola, for example, has taken out a number of loans from Chinese banks at a lower rate of interest than that offered to other countries outside of Africa’s emerging markets. Portuguese companies interested in industrial and energy parks in Mozambique Four Portuguese companies may start investing in October in the Mozambican industrial and energy efficiency parks inspired by a European project, said a project official. The chief executive of Business Talent Enterprise Network (BTEN), Sérgio Lorga, told Portuguese news agency Lusa that the project, which is focused on business innovation, wants to “look at the business infrastructure market, alongside environmental skills and economic competitiveness.” The first activity of the four companies that make up BTEN – GET2C, Fabriwatt, Lena group and Ecochoice – will be to organise a seminar in the Mozambican capital, Maputo, to discuss the market’s outlook and trends with Mozambican specialists. “The idea is for these four companies to start looking at the Mozambican market in a consistent and permanent way, by also listening to Mozambican entities about development challenges over the next few years,” said Lorca. Congestion at Mozambican port of Beira expected to be resolved soon October 10th, 2013 Congestion at the port of Beira, in Mozambique’s Sofala province, is expected t be solved within three months, said the chief executive of the port’s management company Cornelder de Moçambique, Carlos Mesquita. Cited by Mozambican newspaper Notícias, de Maputo, the CEO said that the problem had got worse over the last 10 years as the amount of cargo increased, and most of it was carried by road rather than by rail. However, the problem is about to be solved due to the re-launch of railway cargo transport directly from the port of Beira to Lusaka, in Zambia, after a 25-year standstill. Mesquita said that Mozambique’s ports were designed for transporting cargo at a ratio of 75 percent by rail to 25 percent by road. This was flipped around once the Beira Railway System, made up of the Machipanda and Sena lines, was concession out to, the now closed down company, Companhia Caminhos de Ferro da Beira (CCFB). Due to the company’s inability to comply with its contractual obligations until recently the cargo that arrived at the port of Beira was carried away at a ratio of 65 to 70 percent by road and 35 to 40 percent by rail. Mozambican government approves legislation to simplify process of opening a business The Mozambican government ahs approved the Single Form to open companies and launch business activities, said Minister for Industry and Trade, Armando Inroga, cited by the Mozambican press. At the end of a council of Ministers meeting, Inroga said that the Single Form was a tool intended to simplify and bring together all the legal requirements for company registration and operation. The Single Form (Formulário Único) is part of a package of reforms introduced to improve the business climate in Mozambique. It is also intended to reduce the cost of registering a company and launching business activities. For a standard process, company registration and the launch of its activities could take up to 65 days, which is now expected to be reduced to 25 days by using the single Form. Mozambique is one of the main countries for expansion of Portuguese companies Over 200 Portuguese companies are currently investing in Mozambique, a market in which Portuguese exports are experiencing string growth, Portugal’s secretary of state for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation said in Lisbon. At a seminar organised by the Santander Totta bank, secretary of state Luís Campos Ferreira noted the infrastructure, energy and transport sectors were those to which “Portugal is paying particular attention.” The Mozambican market is “strategic for Portugal,” and for the Portuguese economy as “a rise in exports,” is one of the government’s strategies to revitalise the economy, the secretary of state said, according to the Portuguese press. Figures issued at the seminar showed that by 2017 Mozambique is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 6.88 percent, which is the second highest rate in Africa after Malawi. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects growth of 7 percent this year and 8.5 percent in 2014 – whilst the world average is 2.9 percent this year and 3.6 percent in 2014 – due to investment in infrastructure, energy and natural resources projects. Spanish companies invest US$35 million in Mozambique October 11th, 2013 About 50 Spanish companies that operate in Mozambique have invested around US$35 million over the last three years in infrastructure, fishing and agriculture projects, the deputy Minister for Planning and Development, Amélia Nakhare said Wednesday. At the Spain-Mozambique business meeting, the Mozambican deputy minister said that this level of investment placed Spain in the top ten countries investing in Mozambique. According to Mozambican newspaper O País, the event brought together representatives of 35 Spanish companies from the energy, environment, water and transport infrastructure sectors, as well as Mozambican economic agents interested in setting up partnerships with Spanish companies. The Spanish delegation was headed by the deputy advisor or the Spanish Foreign Trade Institute (Icex), Maria Coriseo González-Izquierdo, who announced a credit line of 75 million euros to fund Spanish-Mozambican projects in the country. Mozambique’s Minister for Industry and Trade, Armando Inroga, invited Spanish companies to make use of “excellent” investment opportunities for construction and/or modernisation of the Mozambican railway network, as it was an “area of increasing importance for carrying away natural resources.” Mozambican electricity company plans to buy power produced in Tete by Ncondezi Energy October 15th, 2013 British company Ncondezi Energy has signed a contract with Mozambican state power company Electricidade de Moçambique (EdM) to buy and distribute electricity produced at the coal-fired power station that is due to be built in the country, the company said in a statement. Under the terms of the agreement, which sets tariffs and other conditions, EdM will be the 300 megawatts of electricity produced in the first phase of the project, for a period of 25 years. Ncondezi Energy also signed a 25-year coal supply contract with Ncondezi Coal. The Ncondezi integrated coal mine and thermal power plant project is located in Tete province and will be carried out in phases of 300 megawatts each up to a total of 1,800 megawatts. Construction of the power plant is due to begin in 2017 and commercial operation is expected to begin in the following year. India and Mozambique due to be linked by air soon India may soon be linked by direct flights to Mozambique after a civil aviation contract is signed by the two countries, said Mozambique’s ambassador to India, José Maria Morais. At an India-Mozambique business meeting organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the ambassador said that as soon as Mozambican airline Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (LAM) decides which Indian city it wants to fly to, the agreement will be signed. Cited by the New India Express, Morais called on Indian industrial business owners to invest in Mozambique and added that companies that export motorcycles and bicycles to Mozambique should consider investing in manufacturing them locally. Noting that India had opened up a credit line worth US$800 million, the ambassador said that Mozambique, as well as being one of the fastest growing economies in the world had extensive resources, particularly in the mining sector, in which Indian companies already have an interest. Baobab Resources sells shares to fund mining projects in Mozambique Redbird Investments, a subsidiary of African Minerals Exploration & Development SICAR SCA, is set to buy 5 million shares in Australian mining company Baobab Resources, under the terms of a contract announced last week. Issuing these shares will provide Baobab Resources with a cash injection, before costs, of 750,000 pounds, which it plans to use to conclude final feasibility studies for its pig iron project in Mozambique. The company plans to produce pig iron with low levels of impurities from iron ore deposits in Tenge/Ruoni in the central Mozambican province of Tete as well as thermal coal, and expects to produce 2 million tons of pig iron per year. Once this financial operation is concluded, Redbird Investments will have 26.8 percent voting rights in Baobab Resources compared to 26.73 percent at the moment. The companies also agreed to place another 8.5 million shares with Redbird Investments, which needs shareholder approval and would provide Baobab with 1.275 billion pounds before expenses. Under the terms of the contract that was signed, Redbird Investments will also be given an option to subscribe up to 27 million ordinary shares, increasing its stake in the company to 37.85 percent. Work due to begin on BP oil terminal at the port of Beira in Mozambique BP’s oil terminal at the Mozambican port of Beira needs investments to be made in it in order to respond to growing demand in central Mozambique and from neighbouring Zimbabwe and Malawi, said the managing director of BP Mozambique. At a session to present the environmental impact study, carried out by Mozambican company Impacto, Martinho Guambe said that the group would invest US$22 million in the terminal in order to give it more reception and storage capacity. The project, which is due to begin in mid-December and be finished in the first half of 2015, includes construction of five tanks, repair of another two tanks, installing new equipment and accessories and a security and fire-fighting system. The terminal, which was built in 1930, currently has seven tanks, five of which will be demolished as they do not meet international operating safety standards for fuel terminals. At the beginning of October, BP’s director for Southern Africa, Thandi Orleyn, announced that the group would invest US$85 million in Mozambique over the next five years in new projects and in modernising facilities in the country. “The biggest portion of the investment, US$75 million, will be spent on modernisation of infrastructure in order to improve the safety and reliability of shipments to the port terminals of Nacala, Beira and Matola,” Orleyn said. BP currently has an 18 percent share of Mozambique’s fuel market, with the sale of 240 million litres of fuel per year. Mozambican postal company climbs out of crisis by diversifying its services Mozambican postal company Correios de Moçambique is about to leave behind the crisis it had faced since 2009 because of a downturn in demand for postal services, said company director Valdemar Jessen cited by daily newspaper Notícias. Valdemar Jessen, who is responsible for Management and Finance at the company, said that, whilst in 2009 the company had posted a loss of 8 million meticals, a focus on diversification of its services had improved the situation in 2010 and 2011. In 2012, the company posted a small loss after investing in the refurbishment of its real estate assets, information and communication technologies a transport. “With the investments we carried out we are in a state of equilibrium between revenues and expenses,” the director noted, adding that the company was working on further diversifying its businesses, “in order to overcome our difficulties.” Speaking about the Postal Bank, Jessen said that the process of setting it up now only depended on bureaucratic issues, which should be resolved by the beginning of 2014. Correios de Moçambique has a 30 percent stake in postal bank Banco Postal de Moçambique, whose partners include insurance company Empresa Moçambicana de Seguros, social security institute Instituto Nacional de Segurança Social and the Transport and Communications Fund. Macauhub News Agency Address: Av. Infante D. Henrique, 43-53 A The Macau Square, 8th Floor – L Macau Phone: (853) -28355315/6 Fax: (853) -28355466 E-Mail: [email protected]
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 10:52:29 +0000
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