Africa-Press – Mozambique. Mozambican Net International Reserves (NIR) renewed their highest level in more than four years, rising to US$3.920 billion in June, according to data from the country’s central bank.
These foreign currency reserves had in February reached their lowest level in about a year, falling to US$3.593 billion, after four consecutive monthly increases.
International reserves grew 1% in March, to US$3.619 billion, 4.3% in April, 1.5% in May, and 2.5% in June, according to the Bank of Mozambique’s latest statistical report released this week.
In June, the amount of international reserves covered more than three months of the country’s estimated import needs.
These reserves, which guarantee companies’ payments abroad for goods and services, reached US$3.807 billion in July 2024, a three-year high at the time, now renewed again more than a year later.
The Bank of Mozambique is adopting measures to increase “fluidity” in the foreign exchange market, attempting to redistribute the volume of available foreign exchange, Governor Rogério Zandamela said on July 31.
“These measures are nothing more than adjusting resources from here, taking them from here, putting them elsewhere, and better monitoring them,” the governor explained at a press conference in Maputo, following the Monetary Policy Committee (CPMO) meeting, which takes place every two months.
“An increase in fluidity in the foreign exchange market is expected. To boost sales to the public, the Bank of Mozambique recently reduced the daily retention limits for foreign exchange acquired by banks. This measure complements the decision to increase the minimum conversion rate for export revenues from 30% to 50%, which implies greater availability and access to foreign exchange,” Zandamela added.
Responding to journalists after the presentation, and taking into account business owners’ concerns about the lack of access to foreign exchange, particularly to guarantee imports, Zandamela pointed out that “there was a need to adjust certain liquidity segments”.
“I repeat, this is very important. One thing is the aggregate distribution of liquidity, whether it exists as a whole in our system, and another is whether it is adequately distributed among the various segments of the country, among exporters, importers, and investors,” Governor Zandamela said.
Mozambican President Daniel Chapo had on July 15 accused the banks in July of “creating” a foreign exchange shortage and turning it into a “business opportunity”, observing that there has never been a shortage of foreign currency for dividend distribution.
“When there is a foreign exchange shortage, this shortage begins to be transformed into a business opportunity. This happens even in commercial banks, [where] you do business every day. There is no real shortage [of foreign exchange], it is a created shortage,” Chapo said at a meeting with local business leaders in Sofala province, central Mozambique.
The Confederation of Economic Associations (CTA) of Mozambique, the country’s largest business association, warned on February 18 that the lack of foreign currency in the banking market was affecting operations, particularly in the healthcare, aviation, fuel, and food import sectors.
During the July 15 meeting in Sofala, listening to the concerns of local business owners, Chapo warned that, despite the foreign currency shortage in the banking sector, there has never been a shortage to “pay dividends to each other” or “pay their salaries”.
“Have you ever heard that there was a shortage? The only shortage will be for Félix Machado [a local businessman] when he wants to import goods. So, it’s truly a situation we must continue working to overcome,” Chapo stated.
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