State-owned enterprises continue to represent one of the principal sources of risk to Mozambique’s public finances, with liabilities in the State Business Sector (SEE) reaching 48.4% of gross domestic product in 2024, amid deepening financial difficulties and mounting pressure on the national accounts.
According to the Fiscal Risks Report 2027, reviewed by Diário Económico, the SEE recorded a decline in shareholders’ equity alongside an increase in debt and other obligations between 2023 and 2024. Liabilities rose to represent 34.8% of the sector’s total assets and resources, equivalent to 48.4% of GDP, eroding the financial capacity of state companies and raising the probability that the government will be required to inject resources to support them.
The financial strain was also reflected in operational performance. Between 2023 and 2024, the combined turnover of SEE companies fell by approximately 1.5 percentage points of GDP, while the results of their activities came to represent 1.5% of GDP. The contraction in business activity also contributed to a reduction in taxes paid by the sector to the State Budget.
Tax revenues generated by the SEE fell from 31.2 billion meticais in 2023 to 24.4 billion meticais in 2024, a decline of more than 21%. At the same time, the government’s exposure through guarantees, debt repayment agreements, sureties, and comfort letters increased by 4% in 2025, heightening the risk that the state will ultimately be required to absorb those liabilities.
The bulk of that exposure is concentrated in enterprises considered critical to the functioning of the economy, including Aeroportos de Moçambique (ADM), Portos e Caminhos-de-Ferro de Moçambique (CFM), state-owned telecommunications operator Moçambique Telecom (Tmcel), and Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (LAM), which currently operates under the Air Mozambique brand. Should these companies fail to meet their obligations, the state may be compelled to absorb a portion of the costs, adding further pressure to the public accounts.
That pressure is compounded by direct government transfers to state-owned enterprises. Between 2022 and 2025, such transfers totalled approximately 0.5% of GDP, with LAM receiving the largest share, estimated at 5.4 billion meticais. In 2025, ADM’s overdue payments reached 1.6 billion meticais, underscoring the company’s difficulties in meeting its obligations on time.
The financial relationship between the state and its enterprises is further complicated by inter-party debt. Although the SEE’s debt to the state declined from 3.6% to 2.1% of GDP between 2022 and 2024, the value of amounts owed by the state to public enterprises increased to 2.9% of GDP. This dynamic maintains significant financial pressure on both sides and may hamper effective resource management.
Despite these difficulties, the SEE continues to deliver social programmes on behalf of the state, although subsidies directed at those activities fell by 27% between 2022 and 2025. Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM), Rádio Moçambique (RM), and Televisão de Moçambique (TVM) continue to provide essential public services under programme contracts.
Pressure on Public Finances
The financial position of state-owned enterprises can directly affect government accounts, as guarantees, sureties, comfort letters, and other contingent commitments risk crystallising into actual expenditure for the Treasury. When a company fails to meet its obligations, the state may be called upon to assume those costs, increasing the demand on public resources.
The accumulation of overdue payments and dependence on state support therefore constitute additional sources of fiscal pressure. Meanwhile, existing debts between the state and the SEE mean that financial difficulties in one party can have knock-on consequences for the other.
In this context, the Fiscal Risks Report 2027 classifies the financial position and performance of the SEE as a medium-level risk, but one with the capacity to affect multiple areas of the public accounts. The report accordingly advocates for more rigorous management of state-owned enterprises and the establishment of performance targets to improve their financial position as a precondition for the granting of future state support.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/09/22/economia/sector-empresarial-do-estado-expos-contas-publicas-a-riscos-de-48-do-pib-em-2024/
