Mozambique’s economic growth remains robust, says IMF

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Thursday 14 May 2015 - 13:09 Makkah mean time-25-7-1436 International Monetary Fund Maputo (IINA) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has considered Mozambique’s economic performance to be robust and stronger than those of most other sub-Saharan African countries, according to a media statement issued at the end of a visit to the country by an IMF staff mission. The mission was in Mozambique from April 27 to May 8, to discuss with local officials the preparations for the Fourth Review of the Policy Support Instrument (PSI) approved in June 2013. The PSI is an instrument for countries which are not asking the IMF to lend them any money but are still seeking IMF endorsement for their policies (often necessary to persuade other donors or funding agencies to provide support). According to Alex Segura-Ubiergo, the leader of the IMF staff team, “(Mozambique's economic) growth is expected to reach 7.0 percent in 2015, though there are downside risks to this outlook due to declining commodity prices and the need for fiscal consolidation.” "Over the medium-term, Mozambique is expected to remain one of the most dynamic economies in the continent, with rates of growth that could average 8.0 percent over the 2016-19 period,” he added. Mozambique is preparing to begin the development of a massive natural gas processing industry in the north of the country. Although the first amount of gas will not be produced from the Rovuma basin until 2019 at the earliest, the IMF pointed out that up to a hundred billion US dollars will be spent on its development which “could transform the country into the third largest liquefied natural gas exporter in the world”. However, the IMF mission “was encouraged by positive developments in the last few months, including the approval of new legislation that could help bring the projects to a final investment decision in 2015”. AB/IINA