Mozambique: Debt of state-owned enterprises falls 7% in Q4 2025

The debt of the Mozambican State Business Sector fell by almost 7% in the last quarter of 2025 compared with the previous one, to 37.287 billion meticais (€505 million), according to data from the Ministry of Finance. Figures on the evolution of Mozambique’s public debt in 2025 indicate a reduction of 2.680 billion meticais (€36.3 million) over the last three months of the year, following a slight 1% increase in the previous quarter. The document adds that the “slowdown was driven, above all, by the servicing of debt by the participating companies,” with particular emphasis on Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique (CFM), Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (LAM), the telecommunications operator TMcel, and the Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH), as well as by the “reduction in the stock of contracted debt” by CFM, ENH, and Aeroportos de Moçambique (AdM).

Revenues collected by Mozambique’s State-Owned-Enterprises (SOEs) rose 35% in 2024, reaching 12.3 billion meticais (€167.1 million), the Government announced in November to Parliament, highlighting measures aimed at improving financial solidity. Responding to questions from MPs on the 2024 General State Account (CGE), Mozambique’s Prime Minister, Maria Benvinda Levi, stated that the Government is advancing measures to reduce fiscal risks in the State Business Sector, continuing the adoption and implementation of initiatives designed to improve the competitiveness and financial strength of state-owned enterprises. To this end, she said, the Executive is focusing on restructuring the sector, with particular attention to financial and operational aspects, as well as to the evaluation model based on the economic value added by managers of state-majority-owned companies.

“This Government initiative is grounded in the fact that, in 2024, the State Business Sector contributed revenues of 12.3 billion meticais, derived from two main sources: dividends and revenue from the sale of shareholdings and assets, all of which were channelled to the Public Treasury,” the Prime Minister said. Compared with the same period in 2023, she noted, revenues collected represented an increase of 35%, up from 9.1 billion meticais (€123.6 million). Maria Benvinda Levi pledged to continue concrete actions to improve public debt management through the implementation of the MERIDIAN IT system, which enhances the quality of debt data in terms of recording, servicing, monitoring, and management analysis. “We also reaffirm that we will continue to develop actions aimed at bringing public debt to sustainable levels, ensuring a balance between financing sources and reinforcing fiscal discipline,” the Prime Minister added.