MACAUHUB NEWS SUMMARISED FOR MOZAMBIQUE From14th August to 20th August 2013 United States interested in supporting Mozambican energy sector August 14th, 2013 The United States may be interested in supporting expansion of Mozambique’s electric power network, said Carlos Pascual, the US Coordinator for International Energy Affairs, reports the Maputo-based daily Notícias. Pascual, who is also an ambassador and US Department of State special envoy, made his comments on Tuesday in Maputo, indicating that business organisations from his country were interested in Mozambique’s gas discoveries and development of the Mozambican energy sector. There is a need to identify ways to act in order to form partnerships with the energy sector, he said. “It is important to acknowledge that these investments can involve millions of dollars. But what needs to be known now is how we can involve the private sector in cooperation with the government, as those discussions should lead to expansion of the energy sector,” Pascual said. Office space sales in Maputo vary between US$2,000 and 3,200 per square meter The average price per square metre for office space sales in Maputo ranges from US$2,000 and US$3,200, according to a study from the consultancy Prime Yield Moçambique (PYM), which expects prices to stabilise over the next five years. By evaluating five areas the “Mozambique Real Estate 2013” study showed that the areas of Bairro Central B and Polana Cimento B, with an average cost of US$2,000 per square metre, are the cheapest in the city, whilst the Sommerschield area, where the cost averages US$3,200, is the most expensive. Bairro Central C (US$2,500) and Polana A (US$2,200) are in the middle-ground of the consultancy’s study which is “the result of field work, along with information from properties evaluated by PYM.” In the rental market the respective costs per square meter vary between US$22 in Bairro Central B and Polana Cimento B, US$25 in Polana Cimento A, US$28 in Sommerschield and US$30 in Bairro Central C. “Over the last five years the price of renting office space has risen due to high demand, particularly from large companies (megaprojects) and the arrival of foreigners,” PYM consultant Daniela Costa told Macauhub. According to Costa, in the next five years, the price of rentals should stabilise as new facilities are built, increasing the availability of office space in Maputo, which now stands at a total of “approximately 337,000 square metres.” Mozambique to receive investments of US$10 billion in the next 3 years In the next three years Mozambique should receive investments of around US$10 billion, following the approval of 300 projects per year leading to the creation of 172,000 jobs, said the deputy director of the Investment Promotion Centre (CPI), Godinho Alves. Alves made his comments in Nacala during the Planning and Development Ministry’s ninth coordination council. Mozambique offers investment opportunities in various economic areas such as infrastructure network development, agriculture, mineral resources and the property sector, he said. The diversification of investment sources with respect to countries and continents and to activity sectors is one reason why Mozambique is not very exposed to the international crisis, Alves said. Besides Europe, Mozambique also counts foreign investment from countries such as South Africa, China, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates, which was the top investor in 2012 with the so-called Integrated Northern Corridor Project budgeted at US$800 million. Statistics compiled by the CPI, the Office of Accelerated Economic Development Areas (GAZEDA) and the Mineral Resources Ministry for 2012 indicate the approval of 384 investment projects worth US$5 billion and the creation of 32,000 jobs. In the last six years Mozambique approved 1,450 projects worth US$24 billion, which created 160,000 jobs, Godinho Alves added. Foreign direct investment in Mozambique totals US$724.5 million in the first half of 2013 August 15th, 2013 Mozambique received US$724.5 million in foreign direct investment (FDI), in the first half of this year, with South Africa the biggest foreign investor on a list of 29 countries, Macauhub learned from the Mozambican Centre for Investment Promotion (CPI). In the first six months of the year the CPI approved 207 FDI projects. South Africa, which topped the list of foreign investors, has earmarked investment of US$240.7 million in 39 projects. Germany (US$140.4 million in three projects) and Switzerland (US$140.3 million in two projects), were in second and third place, respectively, and Portugal was ranked fourth, with investment of around US$84 million in 85 projects. With 11 approved projects, China was the fifth biggest investor (around US$23 million), followed by Mauritius (US$22.9 million), the United Kingdom (US$17.8 million, Italy (US$14,9 million, Zimbabwe (US$5.7 million) and India (US$8 million. Amongst Portuguese-Speaking Countries, as well as Portugal (4th place), Brazil was ranked in 16th place with two projects worth US$1.4 million, and Angola, was 22nd with investment of US$750,000 in a single project. Investments of US$2.448 billion may create 16,000 jobs in Mozambique The Mozambican Centre for Investment Promotion (CPI) approved 248 investment projects in the first six months of 2013, worth a total of US$2.448 billion, which may create over 16,000 jobs, the CPI said. The Industrial sector, with US$1.281 billion for 54 projects, was the sector of most interest to investors, and also received the most foreign direct investment (FDI), of US$349.5 million in total. The Agriculture and Agro-Industrial sectors received the largest amount of national investment – US$181.7 million – across a total of 32 projects worth US$784.3 million, which will create 3,191 jobs. Despite being the area with the most approved projects (76) as well as the one that may create the most jobs (4,111), Services came in third place in terms of total investment, with US$169.9 million. This was followed by the Tourism sector, with investment of US$97.4 million in 36 projects and 1,251 potential jobs, and Construction and Public Works, with US$82 million in investment and 3,848 jobs. Finally, Transport and Communications, with 28 projects costing US$26.5 million, may create 262 jobs, whilst Aquaculture and Fishing, with two investment projects with investment of around US$1 million, is expected to create 53 jobs. Italy’s ENI pays US$400 million to Mozambican government for sale of stake to CNPC Italian oil company ENI, which is prospecting for natural gas in Mozambique, announced Wednesday it had accepted to pay capital gains of US$400 million to the Mozambican government following the sale of a stake it owned in prospecting area 4 to the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), radio station Rádio Moçambique reported. The agreement was negotiated in Tete, central Mozambique, at a meeting Tuesday of Mozambican President, Armando Guebuza, and the chief executive of ENI, Paolo Scaroni. The Italian company, which leads a consortium for prospecting natural gas in northern Mozambique, including Portugal’s Galp, also committed to building a 75 megawatt power station, in return for the sale of 28.75 percent of ENI East Africa to the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) for US$4.21 billion. Guebuza and Scaroni also discussed the process of reconstruction, by ENI, of the road linking Pemba to Palma, an area which provides support for prospecting operations off the coast of northern Mozambique, according to Italian news agency AGI. The new shareholder structure of Area 4 has ENI with 50 percent, CNPC with 20 percent, and Galp, KOGAS and ENH each with a 10 percent stake. Mossuril tourist area established in Nampula, northern Mozambique The Mozambican government has set up the Crusse and Jamali Integrated Tourism Resort located in Matibane, in the Mossuril district of Nampula province, northern Mozambique, with an area of 1,750 hectares, the Maputo press reported Thursday. Crusse and Jamali are uninhabited islands with high quality beaches. Speaking at the end of a council of ministers meeting government spokesman Alberto Nkutumula said that setting up this area was intended to help create development hubs in areas with potential for integrated projects, particularly in the hotel and tourism industry. Nkutumula noted that the new area would be opened up to construction and operation of luxury hotel units, development of residential tourism and new tourist facilities, such as marinas, casinos and golf courses. “We want to transform the Nacala, Mossuril, Matibane, Crusse and Jamali area into one of the world’s most attractive luxury tourism areas,” he said. Maputo International Fair 2013 has 2,000 national and foreign exhibitors August 16th, 2013 Around 2,000 Mozambican and foreign exhibitors have confirmed their presence at the 49th edition of the Maputo International Fair (Facim), due to be held in Marracuene, some 30 kilometres from the Mozambican capital, Maputo, said the chairman of the Export Promotion Institute (Ipex). João Macaringue, cited by daily newspaper Mediafax, also said that by Wednesday a total of 1,878 exhibitors had expressed an interest in taking part in the event from 26 August to 1 September. Of the total 1,398 are Mozambican and 480 are foreign. The foreign exhibitors are from 20 countries and regions, as compared to 19 last year: South Africa, Germany, Argentina, Brazil, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Macau, Malawi, Poland, Portugal, Kenya, Swaziland, Sweden, Thailand, Tanzania, Turkey and Zambia. Of these, Japan and Sweden, Italy and Poland took part for the first time in what is Mozambique’s main fair. Macaringue noted that the increase in the number of countries and companies intending to take part in the fair required Ipex to consider expanding the exhibition area and modernising existing stands. In the period that the fair is held there will be special buses laid on between Ricatla and other neighbourhoods in order to transport people intending to visit the fair. Indian oil group ONGC wants to buy another 10 pct of oil block in Mozambique ONGC Videsh, the foreign business unit of Indian oil group Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), plans to buy a further 10 percent stake in the Area 1 oil block, in Mozambique, which US group Anadarko petroleum plans to sell, said the chairman and chief executive of the company, DK Sarraf. “We have made a proposal to but the 10 percent owned by Anadarko Petroleum and this time we are competing on our own, without the involvement of Oil India Ltd. (OIL),” said DK Sarraf, cited by Indian newspaper the Economic Times. ONGC Videsh(OVL), in partnership with Oil India Ltd, recently acquired a 10 percent stake in the same block of the Rovuma basin owned by a subsidiary of private Indian group Videocon Industries for US$2.48 billion. Sarraf gave no further details about the proposal but sources contacted by the newspaper said that the US group is asking for an amount of US$2.6 billion. “There are tax implications and thus the officials from the US group plan to make up the taxes they will have to pay to the Mozambican state by asking for a higher price for the stake they have put up for sale,” said the source. The Area 1 Block is operated by US group Anadarko Petroleum, with 36.5 percent, 10 percent of which is up for sale, and the remaining partners are Japan’s Mitsui & Co. (20 percent), Indian group ONGC Videsh and Oil India Ltd and Indian company Bharat Petroleum, with 10 percent each, Thai state group PTT with 8.5 percent and Mozambican state company Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos with 15 percent. Mozambique to return 8 pct of funding approved by Millennium Challenge Corporation The Mozambican government will return 8 percent of the US$506.9 million approved by US agency Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), as it was unable to make use of all the funding made available within the deadline, according to the chief executive of the Millennium Challenge Account – Mozambique. The funds will be returned as stipulated by the development agency as Mozambique will not conclude all the projects funded by the MCC within the timeframe given. The MCC provided funding for projects in the country’s four northernmost provinces with a view to reducing poverty and stimulating economic growth. The level of execution of the MCC programmes by the end of the programme, on 22 September, is expected to be 92 percent, which is the equivalent of expenditure of between US$470 million and US$480 million, according to Paulo Fumane, cited Friday by daily newspaper Mediafax. The newspaper also reported that Mozambique planned to access a second package of funding from the MCC, with a value of US$300 million, the beneficiaries of which will be announced in December of this year. Mozambique is well-placed to benefit from the new funding, but only the final evaluation by the MCC can determine if the country has the right to receive further aid. In total the MCC will evaluate 20 different criteria and, according to the MCC board, Mozambique is well-placed in at least 16 of these, but has negative points in the areas of health and fiscal policy. Large projects in Mozambique provide 7 pct of total tax revenues August 19th, 2013 Large projects operating in Mozambique provided 7 percent of total tax revenues of 55.6 billion meticals (US$1.85 billion) posted in the first half of the year, the Finance Minister said Friday in Maputo. Speaking at the opening session of the 10th Tax Council in Maputo, Minister Manuel Chang said that tax revenues had risen by 38.6 percent against the same period of 2012. “This result is satisfactory but the challenge remains for tax revenues to increase further in order to reduce the State Budget deficit which, at the moment, stands at around 33 percent,” said the minister. The first large project to be set up in Mozambique was the Mozal aluminium foundry on the outskirts of Maputo and after that the natural gas fields in Inhambane province, explored by South African petrochemical group Sasol. After that coal mining and natural gas projects were set up in the Moatize basin, in Tete province, and the Rovuma basin of the northern province of Cabo Delgado. Last week Mozambique’s parliament approved a proposal to revise the 2013 State Budget in order to take into account the impact of floods at the beginning of the year, as well as expenses incurred with re-housing people, implementing infrastructure projects, the local elections of 20 November and other expenses. Mozambican President inaugurates Indian group Jindal’s coal business in Mozambique The President of Mozambique, Armando Guebuza, last week officially inaugurated the coal mining and export business of Indian group Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) in the Changara district of Tete province. The operations of the JSPL group, which began in the first quarter of the year, are expected to achieve production of 3 million tons per year. Reserves discovered thus far, according to managing director Manoj Gupta, ensure that the company will be able to mine 10 million tons of coal per year. Jindal’s concession, which covers an area of 17,600 hectares, involving investment of US$10 billion, will require 563 families to be re-homed. In order to meet the electricity needs of the mining business, Jindal has built a sub-station with two 220 kilovolt lines, 40 kilometres from the sub-station of the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Plant. Bank of Mozambique reduces main interest rates by 0.25 percentage points The Bank of Mozambique said Monday it had reduced the interest rate on its permanent liquidity facility to 8.75 percent and the permanent deposit facility to 1.5 percent, the central bank said in a statement issued in Maputo last week. The Monetary Policy Commission of the Bank of Mozambique also decided to keep the Required Reserve Rate unchanged at 8 percent and intervene in the interbank markets in order to ensure that the balance of the monetary base does not exceed 43.817 billion meticals at the end of August 2013. According to the statement these decisions were made in an international climate showing some signs of recovery in developed economies such as the United States and Germany, overall recession in most Euro Zone countries and a more recent trend of slowed economic growth of emerging markets. President of South Korean development agency visits Mozambique The chairman of the Korean International Cooperation Agency (Koica), Kim Young-mok, visited Mozambique to continue talks on two-way cooperation that began in June, Koica said. On the two-day visit, Thursday and Friday of last week, Kim Young-mok met with the Minister for Agriculture, José Pacheco, the New Community Movement (Semaul Undong) for rural and community development based on cooperation, diligence and self-help, which was launched in South Korea in the 1970s. According to the statement Koica plans to fund execution of the Semaul Undong project in Mozambique, to a total of US$11 million over three years (2014-2017), and a community will be chosen to benefit from the project. Koica also plans to fund two mater plans, one to boost the energy sector and the other to develop water resources and worth US$2.5 million and to establish a Engineering and Energy Training Institute, costing an estimated US$8 million. Standard & Poor’s lowers outlook on Mozambique’s economy August 20th, 2013 Credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) lowered its outlook on Mozambique’s economy from stable to negative, according to a statement issued Friday. S&P’s explanation for this downward review is that data showed that Mozambique’s current account deficit is bigger than previously estimated. The agency maintained its “B+” rating on long term debt and “B” on short term debt issued in both national and foreign, but warned it may lower those ratings in future. “The negative outlook reflects the possibility that we could downgrade Mozambique within the next year if progress on big investment projects slows, if projects seem less likely to generate the growth needed to narrow external and fiscal deficits, or if there is a material increase in public sector external commercial debt,” S&P said. Mozambicans pay US$4 billion in taxes in 2013 Mozambique’s Tributary Authority (AT) this year expects to collect tax revenues of 120.5 billion meticals (US$4 billion), said the chairman of the institution, Rosário Fernandes. According to the Mozambican press, Fernandes said that in the first six months of the year the AT had collected taxes of 67.7 billion meticals, or more than half the figure projected for the whole of 2013. At a meeting of the Tributary Authority’s Tax Council, Fernandes said that the AT expected, from 2016 onwards, to improve its process of taxing natural resources companies so that their tax contribution can be increased. The chairman of the AT also said that in six years the number of taxpayers in Mozambique had risen from 400,000 to 2.4 million, which means that one fifth of the active population meets its tax obligations. By the end of this year the AT expects to register 200,000 new taxpayers, a quarter of whom resident in Maputo, a tax area that in 2012 accounted for revenues of 221 million meticals. 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: Wed, 21 Aug 2013 10:09:06 +0000
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