Who might buy Mozambique Airports Company US$500 mn debt? – Hanlon

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Who might buy Mozambique Airports Company US$500 mn debt? – Hanlon

8:33 CAT | 07 Jun 2016

Aeroportos de Moçambique (AdM) has a range of assets and probably could be turned into a profitable company even though, globally, small airports usually lose money (according to the Airports Council International). So AdM could be privatised. However AdM chair Chaves implied that the real goal is to get the $500 mn debt off the government books. How might that be done?

There is a widespread belief that a large part of the $2.3 bn in secret debts went into foreign bank accounts and the deep pockets of some senior people, and there is growing pressure on those people to repatriate some of that money. Others, too, might be tapped – Mozambique remains a highly profitable transit point for heroin, with money going to important people. And the last 20 years has seen some people become wealthy through commissions of various sorts. Patronage networks involve reciprocal promises of future help if needed. Is now a time of need? Could some of these promises be called in? Might a secret Virgin Islands company be created which might pay to take over not just AdM, but its debt as well?

By: Joseph Hanlon