Mozambique: SWF to raise US$90 billion from natural gas exploitation in the coming years

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Mozambique: SWF to raise US$90 billion from natural gas exploitation in the coming years

3:25 CAT | 04 Nov 2020

The Bank of Mozambique expects the country to earn US$90 billion from natural gas projects in the coming years, increasing the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) six-fold, an historic leap in economic growth.

The figures surfaced in Maputo this Tuesday, during a discussion of Mozambique’s proposed sovereign wealth fund.

“Estimates indicate that Mozambique will receive about US$90 billion, which means that GDP will grow by a factor of six,” Bank of Mozambique director Jamal Omar said.

The ambassador of Finland Anna-Kaisa Heikkinen, also participating in the event, said that the careful management of funds from the exploitation of natural gas should not be limited to the creation of the sovereign fund.

“It is essential to consolidate good governance, through stronger institutions of governance,” she said.

The Institute for Multiparty Democracy, co-organiser of the event in partnership with the Bank of Mozambique, said that synergies across all sectors were needed in order to maximise benefits from natural resources.

According to IMD director Hermenegildo Mulhovo, the participation of all social sectors would be essential for the Mozambique sovereign wealth fund to become a tool for the democratic, transparent and inclusive improvement of living conditions of Mozambicans.

Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy figures indicate that the country has collected more than 150 billion meticais from the extractive sector alone in the last five years.