Rio Tinto Coal Moçambique, a subsidiary of Anglo-Australian group Rio Tinto plans to buy goods and services totalling US$160 million from Mozambican companies, particularly those in Tete province, a company representative said Thursday in Maputo.

Cited by Mozambican news agency AIM, the representative of Rio Tinto Moçambique, Emelie Bosten, noted that in order to promote greater involvement of Mozambican companies the Rio Tinto had set up, last July, a Business Centre in the city of Tete.

“With this initiative we intend to improve our relationship with local companies, after last year spending US$120 million on acquiring catering and transport services, with 80 percent of contracts signed with Mozambican companies,” said Bosten, speaking during the seminar organized by the confederation of Economic associations of Mozambique (CTA).

According to Bosten, acquisitions of over US$100,000 are made based on international public tenders, whilst those of less than that amount are based on invitations to put forward proposals.

The seminar, according to the chairman of the CTA, Rogério Manuel, was intended to gather information to take advantage of business opportunities in Mozambique’s mining and oil sectors. (macauhub)