Mozambique sees $880 million tax windfall from Occidental deal

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Mozambique sees $880 million tax windfall from Occidental deal

9:30 CAT | 30 Sep 2019

Mozambique expects to get $880 million in capital gains tax from Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s deal to sell its Africa assets to Total SA, the presidency said in a statement.

The nation, already cashing in on a liquefied natural gas boom even before it starts exporting the fuel in 2023, is home to a $23 billion project that Anadarko Petroleum Corp. finalized in June. Occidental had the month before agreed to buy the company and offload the African projects that came with it to Total for $8.8 billion.

The windfall will be welcome to Mozambique, which will hold general elections on Oct. 15. The world’s seventh-poorest nation by GDP per capita, according to World Bank data, is struggling to recover from two powerful tropical cyclones that struck it in quick succession earlier this year. Rebuilding will cost about $3.2 billion.

The government is still trying to climb out of debt default after a $2 billion loan scandal erupted in 2016, prompting the International Monetary Fund and donor countries to freeze financing.

By Matthew Hill

Source: Bloomberg