The World Bank has revised its economic growth forecasts for Angola, Cabo Verde (Cape Verde) and Mozambique in 2019 and 2020 upwards, unlike Guinea-Bissau.
The government of Mozambique has been involved in the last few weeks in intense negotiations with seven countries to secure funding for one of its largest natural gas projects and overcome scepticism about whether it will honour its debt commitments. The Rovuma Area 1, in the Rovuma Basin, involves an estimated investment of US$25 billion.
The extractive industry has been boosting Mozambique's economy and will increasingly do so with the start of natural gas exploration in 2023, but the country needs a broader growth model, according to the World Bank.
The Angolan government appears determined to reform oil company Sonangol in an effort to reverse the country’s declining oil fortunes. President João Lourenço has made it clear that he intends to overhaul the firm ever since he replaced Isabel dos Santos with Carlos Saturnino as chairperson of the parastatal.
