Zimbabwe, Mozambique agree to refurbish and extend railway line
File photo: Lusa
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Mozambique more than doubled in the third quarter, to US$701.5 million (€634.2 million), compared to the previous quarter, according to central bank data compiled by Lusa on Wednesday.
This compares with a figure of US$460.1 million (€416 million) from January to March and US$360.2 million (€325.6 million) from April to June, according to a statistical report from the Bank of Mozambique with data from the first three quarters of 2023.
Of the total FDI secured by Mozambique in the third quarter, US$497.9 million (€433.9 million) corresponds to the so-called “Major Projects” in the gas and mining sector.
The Mozambican government estimates that FDI in the country should more than triple next year, driven by the natural gas exploration business, to the equivalent of €4.537 billion, according to the budget proposal for 2024.
In the documents supporting the proposal for the economic and social plan of the 2024 state budget (PESOE), the government points to an increase in FDI from an estimated US$1.425 billion (€1.353 billion) this year to US$4.778 billion (€4.537 billion) next year.
Despite the 235% increase, FDI inflows into the country are still unlikely to recover next year from the falls in 2022 – US$1.975 billion (€1.875 billion) – and 2023, “due to disinvestment by companies in the coal industry”, given the peak of more than US$5.101 billion (€4.844 billion) in foreign investment attracted in 2021.
“With regard to FDI for 2024, an improvement is expected, mainly influenced by the resumption of investments by TotalEnergies in the Rovuma Basin,” the report reads.
In the PESOE report for 2024, the government estimates a “notable increase in imports of specialised services by the major projects” underway in the country, as well as the “resumption of operations by TotalEnergies”, the French multinational’s project in Cabo Delgado, valued at more than US$20 billion and suspended since the start of the terrorist attacks in that northern province.
It also expects the expansion of “production plants for other projects, such as Montepuez Ruby Minning, HCB [Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Plant] and Coral North FLNG”, which “could require a considerable increase in imports of goods and services, which could exceed the expected increase in exports, with the start of natural gas exploration.
The Mozambican government expects the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to grow by 5.5% next year – against a forecast of 7% in 2023 – to 1.536 trillion meticais (more than €22.720 billion), an inflation rate of 7% and exports worth US$9.703 billion (€9.215 billion).
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