General Information

The country is the 9th poorest country in the world. After years of suspension (since 2016), the IMF decided to grant the country a Credit Facility of 470 MUSD for 2022-2025...

In the medium term, Mozambique should, however, once again offer numerous business opportunities to French businesses, particularly in the following sectors:

• Hydrocarbons: giant gas deposits were discovered in the north of Mozambique at the start of the 2010s. The exploitation of these gas reserves, initiated in 2017, should make Mozambique one of the main exporters of natural liquefied gas in the world between today and 2025. However, terrorist threats weigh heavily and have led to the shutdown of gas projects, notably by TotalEnergies in March 2021.
• Agriculture/forestry/fishing: only 16% of the 36 M ha of arable land is cultivated, although the country has good land and water reserves. The potential for fishing and forestry is also largely under-exploited.
• Mines: Mozambique harbours significant reserves of carbon, heavy sands (titanium derivatives) and graphite, which are beginning to be exploited on a large scale.
• Energy: the electrification rate is barely above 30%; several central hydroelectric and thermal projects are currently being developed, as well as solar energy.
• Transport infrastructure: modernisation projects or the creation of new logistics axes are on the drawing board.
• Tourism: strong potential (beaches, diving sites, nature reserves), including areas undergoing economic development (Maputo, Tete, Nacala).

The government adopts measures to simplify procedures for registering companies and removing administrative barriers. With these changes the government wants to encourage informal trade towards the Euro, and a formal economy, improve the business environment, attract more national and foreign investments and increase the country’s competitiveness. Despite this initiative, the business environment remains difficult.

Means of Payment & Banking Specificities

To secure your payment we strongly recommend the use of a documentary credit confirmed with payment upon demand.

There is an increased risk of payment delays for unsecured transactions, generally due to the lack of strong currencies.

The Metical (Meticais, MZN) is not convertible and is subject to strict foreign exchange control.

The best currencies for billing currency exchanges are the Euro (EUR) and the US dollar (USD).