Italian companies are reinforcing their investments in Africa, with Mozambique among the priority countries under Italy’s Mattei Plan. The focus is on local content and the offshore gas sector, according to the President of the Mozambique–Italy Chamber of Commerce (CCMI), Simone Santi.
In a statement received by DE, the assessment was made by the official, recently elected coordinator of Italian Chambers of Commerce in Africa and the Middle East, who highlighted growing interest from Italian companies in the Mozambican market.
According to the CCMI president, Italian companies’ interest goes beyond Eni’s presence in the country and reflects Mozambique’s potential to attract new investment. “Mozambique is among the first countries being considered, not only because of Eni and its investments, but also due to its technology and its propensity to invest in local content,” he said.
He also praised SAIPEM, the Italian engineering and construction company for the energy industry and vice-president of the institution, for the unconditional approval of its merger with Subsea7 by CADE, Brazil’s competition authority.
“We are now awaiting the opinion in Mozambique from the Competition Regulatory Authority (ARC). We are confident that this merger can only benefit competition, allowing, for the first time, the entry of two new players into the offshore construction market, which is currently in a near-monopoly situation,” he said.
In his view, the merger combines complementary services and strengthens local content, in line with agreements signed between SAIPEM and the National Hydrocarbons Company (ENH) to promote national firms.
Local Content Put Into Practice
As an example of local content implementation, Simone Santi highlighted Nuovo Pignone, part of Baker Hughes, which awarded the construction of key technologies to a consortium mostly composed of Mozambican companies for the Coral Norte project. “All this with the approval of Eni, which is very active and highly appreciated for holding open days with local companies,” he said.
He added that several Italian companies have already established local partnerships in the oil and gas value chain, including Bonatti, Renco, Gruppo Leonardo, Donelli, Faresin and Matemo.
However, he warned that some companies supporting the Coral Norte floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) unit are facing difficulties due to differing interpretations by authorities regarding the originally agreed tax and customs exemptions.
“Some companies working in support of the Coral Norte FLNG unit are facing problems due to different interpretations by the authorities regarding the initially foreseen tax and customs exemptions,” he said.
Legal Certainty to Attract Investment
In another development, Simone Santi reiterated, as he did during the Global Gateway Conference, that laws and their interpretation should not have retroactive effect, considering this a key principle for continuing to attract foreign investment. “We hope these issues will be resolved soon,” he said.
According to the CCMI president, Mozambique continues to offer opportunities for investors and the ongoing reform agenda is promising. “It is necessary to continue working with associations to improve investors’ perception and increase the value of companies investing in local partnerships,” he concluded.
Source: Diário Económico
