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Mozambique: Doing business & staying in touch
Doing business in Mozambique
Lightweight suits are advised. Prior appointments are recommended. A knowledge of Portuguese is normally necessary for business dealings, although there are translation facilities available in Maputo. January is the main holiday month, so this should be avoided for business trips.
Following the civil war, the Mozambican economy picked up strongly in the late 1990s. Devastating floods, drought and trade-related disputes in the new millennium have intermittently undermined progress, and required aid donors to step in. Growth was at a healthy 7.9% in 2006, but inflation was also high at 13.2%.
In mid 2006, the World Bank relieved Mozambique from much of its long-term foreign debt burden, and remaining debts were rescheduled under the IMF's Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative.
Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy. Forestry is increasing in importance. Fishing is both an important source of food and a vital export earner. Manufacturing industry produces one quarter of GDP: products include processed foods, textiles, drinks, cement and fertiliser. Mining operations produce coal, salt, bauxite, gemstones and marble. In addition, natural gas is extracted from onshore fields and piped to South Africa.
Mozambique is a member of the Southern African Development Conference.
Keeping in Touch in Mozambique
Roaming agreements exist with most international mobile phone operators. Coverage is expanding to all main cities in most provinces.
Postal services are available in main centres. Airmail to Europe usually takes five to seven days, but sometimes longer.
• There are no English-language newspapers published in Mozambique.
• The daily papers include Diário de Moçambique and Notícias.
• Televisao de Mozambique (TVM) is state-run.
• Soico TV (STV) is a private broadcaster.
• TV Miramar is another private broadcaster.
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