The United Nations (UN) expects to remove Angola and São Tomé and Principe from the group of least developed countries (LDCs), according to the World Economic Outlook report.
The acquisition of one of Portugal’s biggest agricultural companies by Macao firm CESL Asia last year may yet be seen as a defining moment in the economic relationship between China, Portugal and our SAR.
Angola and Mozambique are among the African countries whose debt burden places them in a situation of financial risk, which may keep investors away, according to the World Bank.
The new São Tomé deepwater port was to be the signature project of the reestablishment of relations between China and São Tomé and Príncipe. But the country’s debt level currently advises against the large-scale state-to-state financing initially forecast.
Chinese financing on a large scale for the construction of infrastructure in exchange for natural resources, which became known as the "Angola Model” is now being developed into the "Ghana Model" according to researcher Eric Olander, founder of the "China Africa Project."
Angola experienced its fourth straight year of recession in 2019. The government and the International Monetary Fund expect the new year to be a turning point, towards a return to growth. With the economy still dependent on oil revenues, much will depend on the country’s capacity to stop a decrease in oil production, as well as on oil prices in international markets.
Angola and Cabo Verde are conducting projects to increase security in their main cities, using video surveillance, using Chinese technology and financing, with a view to improving conditions for activities such as tourism.
Work has begun on building the new deepwater port of Tibar in Timor-Leste. China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC) is developing the US$490 million project, which will be operated by French firm Bolloré. The scheme is huge in relation to the size of the Timorese economy and the volume of non-oil trade flows, so is it really needed, or will it actually drive economic growth?
Cabo Verde recorded the biggest economic growth among all the Portuguese-speaking African countries, as a new year is about to begin in which Mozambique is expected to see strong economic acceleration and a possible return to growth for Angola.
The advance payment of Angola's debts to Brazil has given the Angolan State Budget (OE) in 2020 some financial leeway, according to studies office of Banco Fomento Angola
Guinea-Bissau, Cabo Verde and Mozambique are among the African countries that are most open, with regard to visas, to the citizens of other African states, according to the African Union (AU) and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The Mozambican economy has continued to lose steam during the year, owing to the fall in commodities prices in international markets.
The implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which includes the Portuguese-Speaking countries, enhances the attractiveness of the continent for industrial investment from China, according to Jeremy Stevens, chief economist of the South African Standard Bank responsible for China.
Angola’s economy has been undergoing a prolonged recession since 2014, with oil production declining and oil prices subdued. Not only is the recession expected by independent analysts to continue, but now Angola’s second export – diamonds – is also taking a hit.
Cabo Verde's 2020 State Budget (OE), approved on 29 November, forecasts an acceleration of economic growth and a continuation of the fall in the country's high debt burden, one of the main weaknesses of the Cape Verdean economy.
Angola will only return to economic growth in 2021, when the economy's growth rate is expected to reach 2.4%, after falling 3.8% this year and 1.4% in 2020, according to the latest country report produced by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa are “a hotspot for investor interest”, says Mateus Magala, Vice-president of the African Development Bank. According to the Mozambican national, “the time is now” to invest in these countries, because of economic reforms, a burgeoning middle class and regional diversity against the background of the new African Continental Free Trade Area.
Chinese group Huawei will increase its support for StartUP Portugal, the public company responsible for boosting young technology-based companies, under a partnership agreement recently signed in Lisbon.
The expansion of global trade was an important theme of the 2nd International China Imports Exhibition, during which a set of agreements favouring Macau as a trading platform between Portuguese-speaking countries and China was signed.
Brazil and Cabo Verde were among the countries to introduce the most reforms throughout 2018 to improve their business environment, although this was not enough to prevent their decline in the World Bank benchmark index.
