Mozambique: State-owned companies reduce debt by nearly 3% in first quarter

The SEE’s direct debt fell from 37,286.9 million meticais (€498 million) at the end of 2025, representing a nominal reduction of 1,111.5 million meticais (€14.8 million), according to the Quarterly Public Debt Bulletin of the Ministry of Finance, which Lusa accessed today. The document states that the performance is “essentially explained by the reduction in the stock of domestic debt”, as a “consequence of the fulfilment of debt service obligations by SEE companies”. The sector’s direct domestic debt fell from 17,689.3 million meticais (€236 million) to 17,166.9 million meticais (€229 million), while external debt recorded a slight increase of 0.06%, to 19,008.4 million meticais (€254 million).

Among the companies that contributed most to the reduction in domestic debt were the National Investment Bank (BNI), whose debt decreased by 600 million meticais (€8 million) due to the full repayment of financing provided for treasury support; Mozambique Ports and Railways (CFM), with a reduction of 446.2 million meticais (€6 million); and Mozambique Airports (ADM), with a decrease of 262.6 million meticais (€3.5 million). In the opposite direction, domestic debt at Mozambique Airlines (LAM) increased by 6.92%, to 5,736.3 million meticais (€76.6 million), reinforcing its position as the state-owned company with the largest volume of domestic debt, representing 33.4% of the total portfolio. In the external debt component, growth was driven mainly by CFM and ADM, which increased their debt by 9.44%, to US$40 million (€34 million), and by 0.9%, to US$155.3 million (€134 million), respectively.

Meanwhile, Tmcel, BNI and Petromoc recorded reductions of 4.93%, 6.43% and 4.64%, respectively, in their levels of external indebtedness. The bulletin also notes that the SEE debt structure remains heavily concentrated in foreign currency, with the US dollar accounting for 68.2% of the total, equivalent to 24,659 million meticais (€329 million), while the component denominated in meticais represents 31.7% and the component denominated in euros only 0.2%. In the report’s conclusions, the Ministry of Finance explains that the reduction of total debt (2.98%) in the first quarter of 2026, compared with the fourth quarter of 2025, is “essentially explained by the contraction of the stock of domestic debt as a consequence of the fulfilment of debt service obligations by SEE companies”. The document also highlights that, in the first quarter of 2026, “no On-Lending Agreements or Sovereign Guarantees were signed in favour of public companies”.