The Mozambican President, Filipe Nyusi, said that the creation of the Mozambican Sovereign Fund (FSM), to be fuelled by revenues from natural gas exports, demonstrates the country’s intention to raise the level of governance and transparency in public management.
Speaking during the 19th Annual Private Sector Conference (CASP), Nyusi explained the importance of all stakeholders being involved in the materialisation of the GSF, in order to guarantee gains for future generations.
‘The Sovereign Wealth Fund attests to our deliberate intention to establish good levels of governance and transparency in public management. We must all work to ensure that the objectives are realised.’
The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) revealed that in the first quarter of this year, the state collected 5.9 billion meticals (94.2 million dollars) in revenue from oil and natural gas exploration, emphasising that this amount was fully invested in Mozambique’s new Sovereign Fund.
According to data from the economic and social balance of the state budget from January to March, the accumulated revenues include 73.37 million dollars (4.6 billion meticals) for the current year, 20 million dollars (1.2 billion meticals) for the first quarter and 800 thousand dollars (50 million meticals) for 2022.
‘The amounts were deposited in the transitional account at the Bank of Mozambique, as stipulated in Article 6 of Law No. 1/2024 of 9 January, which established the FSM,’ said the MEF.
On 12 March, the government estimated that the FSM would be operational in April, following the approval on that day of its regulations, as stated by the Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance, Amílcar Tivane.
‘It also defines the procedures for ensuring the transfer of resources associated with the exploitation of liquefied natural gas, and also revenues from the exploitation of future oil and gas projects, setting the proportion at 60 per cent for the State Budget and 40 per cent for the Sovereign Fund account for the first 15 years. And from the 16th year onwards in a 50/50 ratio,’ he explained.
The current edition of CASP, organised by the Confederation of Economic Associations (CTA) in partnership with the government, aims to reflect ‘on the progress and challenges of the Package of Economic Acceleration Measures and to debate the conditions of the business environment in order to make the country more competitive’. Projects valued at 75.8 billion meticals (1.7 billion dollars) will also be discussed.
Taking place under the theme ‘Investments and Business in the Environment of Economic Acceleration Measures: Challenges and Opportunities’, the three-day event (15, 16 and 17 May) will include 80 foreign businesspeople, more than 4,000 in-person participants and 20,000 virtual participants.
According to a CTA press release, there are also more than 40 national and foreign speakers and delegations from more than 12 countries, such as Mauritius, South Africa, Angola, Brazil, Portugal, the Netherlands, France, Italy and Zimbabwe, among others.
