Search Issues
Republic of Mozambique, commonly known as Mozambique, is located in southeastern Africa. To the east of Mozambique is the Indian Ocean, across the Mozambique Strait from Madagascar. The country has an area of nearly 799,000 square kilometres and a population of over 30 million. Mozambique was once a Portuguese colony. The official language is Portuguese, while the major ethnic groups have their own languages, mostly belonging to the Bantu language group. The population mainly practices Catholicism and Islam. Some people believe in original religions and others are protestant. The country is divided into 10 provinces and 1 municipality. The capital and largest city Maputo is the national political, economic, cultural centre and transportation hub. It has also one of the busiest ports in Africa.
Mozambique declared official independence on 25 June 1975. After independence, due to years of civil war and natural disasters and other factors, Mozambique was long-term financial difficulty and it was declared one of the world’s least developed countries by the United Nation. After the restoration of peace in 1992, the Mozambican government increased investment in infrastructure and vigorously developed tourism industry, actively promoting foreign investment and co-operation. It strived to improve foreign investment policies and regulations and optimise the business environment, while developing mineral, energy, agriculture, forestry and fisheries and other resources, managing to achieve rapid economic growth. Moreover, the World Bank’s report on business environment “Doing Business 2020” pointed out that the score of Mozambique has improved in terms of starting business, getting a construction permit, electricity access and property registration.
Mozambique has attached great importance to maintain good relations with neighboring countries and regional economic co-operation. It has established diplomatic relations with 119 countries. It has been members of various international organisations such as the United Nations(UN), the African Union, the Southern African Development Community(SADC), the Commonwealth, the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries(CPLP) and The Indian Ocean Rim-Association for Regional Co-operation(IOR-ARC).
Information of Business Opportunities in Mozambique
Agriculture is the main industry in Mozambique. About 66% of the population is engaged in agricultural production and processing. The crops include corn, rice, soybeans and cassava. Mozambique’s traditional agricultural products for export include cashew nuts, cotton, sugar and sisal. It has abundant forest resources and the total forest resources are about 1.74 billion cubic meters. The potential for the development of fishery resources is enormous, with potential catches of up to 2 million tons.
The rich resources of Mozambique include coal, iron, copper, gold, tantalum, titanium, bismuth, aluminum, asbestos, graphite, mica, marble and natural gas, among which coal reserves contains over 32 billion tons, titanium more than 6 million tons, tantalum reserves of about 7.5 million tons, ranking the first in the world. Due to its rich mineral resources, a number of international mining companies are attracted to invest and develop the resources in Mozambique.
The industry mainly includes processing industry. The railways and ports in Mozambique are serving mainly neighboring inland countries. International freight was once one of the main sources of foreign exchange. The railway in Mozambique has a total length of 3,372 kilometres, highway a total length of 30.5 thousand kilometres. It has 15 ports such as Maputo and Beira, with river routes of 1,500 kilometre and coast line 2,630 kilometres. In terms of foreign trade, Mozambique mainly exports aluminum products, energy and mineral products, as well as tobacco. The country mainly imports crude oil, energy, food, mechanical and electrical equipment, automobiles and household appliances.
Overview of Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Mozambique
The People’s Republic of China and The Republic of Mozambique established diplomatic relations on 25 June 1975. Since then, relations between the two countries have developed smoothly, with frequent high-level exchanges of visits. In May 2016, the two countries established comprehensive strategic partnership. In 2019, the two countries signed “The Co-operation Plan between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Mozambique on Jointly Promoting the Construction of the Belt and Road”, further promoting the co-operation between the two countries to a new level. Currently, China’s Hubei Province, Hainan Province have established sister provinces with Mozambique’s Gaza and Nampula Province, respectively; while Shanghai and Chengdu have established sister cities respectively with Maputo, capital of Mozambique. In September 2014, Mozambique set up a Consulate General in Macao.
In terms of economic and trade relations and economic and technical co-operation, the two countries have signed trade agreements and investment protection agreements. In 2001, China and Mozambique established a Joint Economic and Trade Commission. In June 2018, the 6th meeting was held in Maputo. In addition, as of 1 January 2015, 97% of products from Mozambique exported to China are tariff-free.
Main Economic Indicators in 2019
| GDP (Current US$) (in US$ billions) | 14.9 |
| GDP per capita (Current US$) | 491.8 |
| Real GDP Growth (annual %) | 2.2 |
| Inflation, GDP deflator (annual %) | 3.0 |
| Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BOP, current US$) (in US$ billions) | 2180.8 |
| Surface area (sq. km) | 799,000.0 |
| Population | 30,366,036 |
Source:
1. World Bank, https://data.worldbank.org/
Foreign Trade Statistics of
|
(Unit: US$ billion) |
| Year | Total export-import volume | Total exports volume | Total imports volume |
| 2019 | 12.3 | 4.7 | 7.6 |
| 2018 | 12..0 | 5.2 | 6.8 |
Source : International Trade Centre, https://www.intracen.org/
Major Trading Partners of Mozambique (2019)
| Main Export Destinations | Percentage (%) |
| South Africa | 18.9 |
| India | 17.0 |
| China | 6.9 |
| Italy | 6.4 |
| Main Origin for Imports | Percentage (%) |
| South Africa | 27.9 |
| China | 11.3 |
| United Arab Emirates | 9.6 |
| Singapore | 6.7 |
Source International Trade Centre, https://www.intracen.org/
China-Mozambique Import and Export Trade |
(Unit: US$ billion) |
| Year | Total export and import | Total exports to Mozambique | Total imports from Mozambique |
| 2019 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 0.7 |
| 2018 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 0.6 |
Source: General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China, http://online.customs.gov.cn/
Macao-Mozambique Bilateral Trade |
(Unit: in US$) |
| Year | Total export and import | Total exports to Mozambique | Total imports from Mozambique |
| First three quarters of 2020 | 19,066.3 | 16,947.4 | 2,118.9 |
| 2019 | 56,905.5 | 47,906.6 | 8,998.9 |
| 2018 | 209,095.8 | 13,866.0 | 195,229.8 |
Source: Statistics and Census Service of the Government of Macao Special Administrative Region, https://www.dsec.gov.mo/
Source
World Bank
https://databank.worldbank.org/
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China
https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/
Macao Trade and Investment Promotion
https://www.ipim.gov.mo/
International Trade Centre
https://www.intracen.org/
General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China
http://online.customs.gov.cn/
Statistics and Census Service of the Government of Macao Special Administrative Region
https://www.dsec.gov.mo/
