Welcome to Zitamar’s daily Mozambique briefing for 7 December, 2017.
The latest from Zitamar News:
Cahora Bassa dam valued at $700 million ahead of stock market listing
HCB’s other shareholder reckons 7.5% is worth a little over $50m. But whose stake is it anyway?
Moza Banco completes $59m capital increase
The capital raise means the Bank of Mozambique’s pension fund has an even bigger stake in Moza
Eni closes Mozambique floating LNG project finance
The deal is the world’s first project financing for an FLNG project
The best of the rest:
‘Embraer 3’ detained over corruption charges; bank accounts frozen (MediaFax, VoA, DW, O País)
The three men suspected of organising the Mozambican side of a corrupt deal to buy Embraer planes for Mozambican airline LAM were arrested yesterday, to appear in court today. Yesterday’s Canal de Moçambique predicted the arrest of former transport minister Paulo Zucula, former LAM chairman José Viegas, and former Sasol country head Mateus Zimba, would come ‘any time now’ – and said their bank accounts and certain other assets had been frozen.
Zucula spoke with Zitamar News in April to protest his innocence – and he, unlike the other two, was not named in Embraer’s testimony to Brazilian financial sector regulator CVM. However, the Office for Combating Corruption seems to have found enough evidence to put all three on trial.
Ambitious plan to redevelop Maputo as tourist destination (@Verdade)
The Maputo municipality has a $200 million plan to redevelop the city and make it more attractive to tourists – including pedestrianising Avenida Samora Machel and creating more car-free zones, and building a ‘panoramic elevator’ linking the baixa to the Museu area. It would also increase housing and ‘organise’ informal vendors.
Traffic and parking is a big problem in Maputo, so now would be an excellent time for planners to think about whether they want the capital to be a dominated by cars. Whether Maputo will ever be a tourist city, however, is doubtful.
Nyusi visits Nampula – again (Rádio Moçambique)
Presidential business is taking Filipe Nyusi to Nampula again – little over a month before the city of Nampula goes to the polls to elect a new mayor. Nyusi will highlight Frelimo government achievements in the city and province including laying the first stone of a new hospital in Nampula, and of the new road from Nampula to Nametil – and inaugurate a flour processing plant.
Again, this looks like electioneering by Nyusi on the state budget – timed to draw attention away from the MDM Congress which is happening in Nampula this week.
Chinese companies interested in Baobab’s Tete steel project (CanalMoz)
Baobab Resources will today present its iron and steel project feasibility study to the Mozambican government and other interested parties in Maputo, according to Nilza Miquidade of the ministry of trade and industry. Three Chinese companies are interested in joining the project, CanalMoz reports, namely Magang, Shanxi Zhangze Power, and Sinosteel.
Agenda
- Today: President Filipe Nyusi starts a three-day visit to the province of Nampula
- Today: Mozambique and China sign three accords, including one for the financing of Xai-Xai airport
- Today: The MDM elects the party president – expected to be an easy reelection for the party’s founder, Daviz Simango
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