[2019-02-28] South African companies interested in a textile factory in Mozambique

Source: Macauhub

South African companies linked to the textile sector have expressed interest in reactivating the factory of the former Textáfrica – Sociedade Têxtil de Vila Pery in Chimoio, said the governor of Mozambique’s Manica province, Manuel Rodrigues.

The governor also said that representatives of these companies had visited the textile facilities in Chimoio, which was at one time one of the largest factories in Africa, and expressed an interest in investing in its recovery.

Rodrigues, who paid a visit to the factory that closed its doors more than a quarter of a century ago, said that the interest of foreign entities had increased over the last three years and the facility had been visited by entrepreneurs from India, China, and Japan.

In February 2018, Mozambique’s prime minister, Carlos Agostinho do Rosário, said he had visited the company’s premises to meet with the provincial government, managers, and others involved in the process, “to understand the situation and take the measures that seem relevant to revive the sleeping monster, in order for it to start operating an creating jobs.”

In April 2016, the then provincial governor of Manica Alberto Mondlane announced that the central government was conducting studies to restore Textáfrica to operation.

The standstill of two textile mills, Textáfrica and Empresa Moçambicana de Malhas (EMMA), both owned by the same Portuguese group, led to a drop in cotton production in that part of Mozambique, and its bankruptcy led to over 3,000 people losing their jobs.