Portugal and China are boosting their position as Angola’s main trading partners, as a time of growing economic activity in Angola and of public and trade surpluses, according to Portugal’s BPI bank.

“In terms of exports the hegemony of oil has increased, and for which China is the most important buyer, whilst on the import side consumer goods dominate and Portugal continues to take pole position, although China has been gaining,” the bank said in its latest report on Angola. … More

The Mozambican government is extending its jurisdiction over mergers and acquisitions of foreign companies that own assets in the country, particularly in the mining sector, where these kinds of deals are at a high, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Teams from the ministries of Finance and Mining Resources are working on a clause, which will be included in the review of the mining law, about how to calculate the tax on profits from the sales of foreign companies, the EIU said in its latest report on Mozambique. … More

Construction projects in Angola are increasing to the benefit of large companies such as China’s SinoHydro, due to a rise in the country’s oil revenues, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

“There are daily announcements of new projects to build low cost and social housing, to build or refurbish road networks and for water and electricity supply,” said the EIU in its latest report on Angola. … More

Mozambique’s energy potential, shown by the recent discoveries of larges natural gas and coal reserves, are leading large international groups to consider investing in the country, according to information from the Africa Monitor newsletter.

The newsletter said that the size of recent discoveries of natural gas in the sea off northern Mozambique was one of the focuses of international interest, particularly amongst groups that have gas as one of their current businesses, including Italy’s ENI, which is part of the consortium responsible for the most recent discovery. … More

Commercial agriculture is “gaining impetus” in Mozambique due to various large-scale private farming and livestock projects which are finally enabling the country to benefit from the potential of that economic activity sector, reports the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

“Commercial agriculture, which has received less investment that other capital-intensive sectors, is expanding and the country’s strong agricultural potential is being developed,” indicates the EIU in its most recent report on Mozambique, accessed by Macauhub. … More

The hospital business in Portugal is one of the targets of Angolan oil company Sonangol, at a time when the financial crisis in Portugal is attracting Angolan, Brazilian and Chinese investors to study acquisitions and privatisations, according to the Africa Monitor newsletter.

Last week Africa Monitor reported that Angolan state company Sonangol planned to compete for the privatisation of private hospital network HPP Saúde – Hospitais Privados de Portugal, owned by state financial group Caixa Geral de Depósitos and that it had informed the Portuguese government of its intentions, specifically Portugal’s Finance Minister, Vitor Gaspar, during his recent visit to Luanda. … More

Angola needs to invest US$20 billion in telecommunications, transport, energy, and water over the next decade in order to catch up with the level of infrastructure in other developing countries, according to a comparative study from the World Bank published in Washington.

In the study, “Angola’s Infrastructure: A Continental Perspective,” published by the World Bank, researchers Nataliya Pushak and Vivien Foster estimated that Angola has spent US$4.3 billion per year in infrastructure, which is the equivalent of 14 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), most of which in transport. … More

The Angolan government is to start merging the country’s main railroad companies, the reconstruction of which using lines of credit from China is almost finished, with a view to selling part of them to private investors.

“All the main Angolan railroads have been rebuilt over the last 10 years, with thousands of kilometres of new lines opened up, using funding from Chinese credit lines,” said the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in its latest report on Angola. … More