The business community has been wooed to invest in Mozambique and benefit from their growing economy as the neighbouring country outlined attractive incentives for export oriented businesses.
The appeal was made by Mozambique Minister of Trade and Industry Silvino Augusto Jose Moreno at an engagement with business captains in Blantyre on Wednesday under the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI).
Jose Moreno said for regional integration to materialise the private sector within the region should work together and without boundaries and highlighted agriculture, manufacturing, energy and tourism as some of the sectors with great potential.
“We believe that the private sector in the region is the main driver of economic growth of our region so we need to work together to ensure we use the available growth opportunities to enable the region to compete at the continental and global markets.
“In Mozambique, our GDP is growing at an impressive pace of almost five percent per annum and we expect growth to reach 13 percent per annum in 2027 meaning we need to promote investment and enable more businesses to use the emerging market,” Moreno said.
In an interview, Mozambique Investment and Export Promotion director general Gil Bires said there are special incentives for foreign investors in export oriented sectors apart from general flexed laws for foreign investment.
Bires said: “We have laws that allow you to register a company in Mozambique within two days; our laws do not force you to partner with a Mozambican apart from a few sectors like security and media—meaning that in the rest of the sectors you can own a company with 100 percent shareholding.
“We have also flexed our visas for investors such that investors are given special visas valid up to three or five years. The visas are renewed after expiry,” he said.
In a separate interview, MCCCI deputy president Arnold M’bwana said the local business community has been impressed with the outlined incentives, stressing that while some have already expanded to Mozambique, others are assessing the options.
“We had a fruitful engagement and the business community appreciated what Mozambique has to offer. We already have other companies like Bakhresa that already expanded to Mozambique and I believe others could tap the available opportunities,” M’bwana said.
Mozambique shares the longest border with Malawi and most communities surrounding the borders share cultures, language among others which make it easy for businesses to improve cross-border trade.
