Aviation: Nyusi invites Dutch investors as Mozambique seeks partners for LAM

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Aviation: Nyusi invites Dutch investors as Mozambique seeks partners for LAM

1:19 CAT | 22 May 2017

O País (File photo)

Speaking at the end of his visit to the Netherlands, President Nyusi has said that Mozambique is seeking partners to help make LAM more proactive at national and international level.

“The idea is to make Mozambican airlines more active and more inventive. There will be more contacts made, in order to identify companies with a name and financial muscle, with know-how in the area, capable of attracting the international market,” he said.

On Friday, the head of state focused on getting Dutch business involved in Mozambique’s passenger transport sector. The government is also looking for an airline that can transform Nacala Airport into a regional or international Hub.

The delegation that visited Holland included more than 50 entrepreneurs, led by the Confederation of Economic Associations. They held contacts with more than 100 Dutch entrepreneurs and discussed partnerships and financing possibilities. The business forum was brought to a close by the president, who urged Dutch entrepreneurs not to be afraid of investing in Mozambique, and highlighted the agriculture, livestock, tourism, mineral resource and training sectors.

But President Nyusi’s main focus was the passenger transport sector. He said there were great opportunities in urban passenger transport in Maputo, Beira and Nampula, and also in Tete, Nacala and Pemba, with businesspeople from both countries negotiating partnerships and the possible subsidies which the government could allocate.

He also said that the civil aviation sector, which in recent months had experienced many difficulties, was open for foreign investment, and there had been a lot of interest from investors in other countries. “Even today [Friday May 19], I have heard of some developments in discussions of this issue. I am trying to blackmail you, it is real. But I have not seen the particulars of the discussions under way, so we are still proceeding with it here,” the president said.

Financial sector well represented in the Netherlands

The Mozambican banking sector was well represented in the mission to the Netherlands, with Banco Comercial e de Investimentos, Banco Nacional de Investimentos and BancABC all present. The Dutch financial sector showed great interest in the Mozambican banking sector in the various meetings.

Banks and investment funds are offering Mozambican entrepreneurs financing and partnerships with national banks to encourage exports from Mozambique to the Netherlands, and there are also others who want to encourage Dutch exports to Mozambique, with vessels for the government’s dream of reactivating cabotage to the fore.

President Nyusi indeed took the opportunity to visit shipbuilder, Damen, which is interested in selling its ships to Mozambique and showcased a vessel purpose-built for the Mozambican market and ideal for to transporting either people or goods. One such could in principle be offered either by the company or the Dutch government for service between Inhaca Island and the city of Maputo.

The Minister of Transport and Communications revealed that the government is interested in acquiring vessels to facilitate agricultural marketing and transport goods from localities with minimal infrastructure to large city docks.

Source: O País