Thoughts on investing in Mozambique.
Like many a wise wife, I know well that part of my marital duties revolve around making him feel more like a real man. And as many a wise wife knows, this is a far-reaching and all-encompassing activity. These past holidays it involved packing up clothes, commodities, festive fare and fishing rods and heading off on that very long drive to Mozambique, where with muscles flexed, he instantly paced off seawards, leaving me to resume my standard holiday navel sunning.
A pastime I used to relish until I looked at it. My navel. Without my sunglasses. And realized just how expansive it really was. Although we become conditioned to expect them, as time marches on, those moments of shock usually come when least expected, and I for one am often left vaguely wondering which reality is really reality: the image last scrutinized in a mirror or the one that has just let us down in public – large, looming and in need of a sarong.
Talking rapid expansion, and Mozambique, I was pleased to be able to sway my holiday focus, as I learned that Mozambique is considered one of the fastest growing economies on the African continent. And with that of course, I began to plot.
For who wouldn’t want a holiday home on an idyllic beach, overlooking endless blue seas. What about an investment here? Would it be worth it? What would the Other Half say?
With the recent peace deal between Frelimo and Renamo the country is already attracting more foreign interest, and a lineup of other positives, makes it ripe for investment.
Besides a healthy GDP growth rate and significant stimulation of the economy over the last five years due to the discovery of large coal and gas fields, many infrastructural projects are also underway which should further enhance the country’s potential. These include the highway connecting South Africa’s Komatipoort border to Maputo, the ring road around Maputo to ease congestion, the Maputo-Catembe Bridge over Maputo bay, and the deep water port in Nacala.
Maputo itself is also looking rather busy, with high-rise buildings and office blocks springing up in clusters and large volumes of new houses promising a high return on investment in the real estate sector where demand far outweighs supply. To add to this, large numbers of foreign nationals and relocated citizens are creating headquarters and new branches for multi-nationals in the city, and the bustling port, where pre-arranged tax exemptions for all cargo and goods in transit to South Africa via Maputo provide a cost effective alternative to Durban port, has seen many new operations evolve to handle this increased demand.
Tax benefits too, for South African nationals investing in Mozambique are also inviting, with a double tax treaty between the two countries further facilitating investment.
Inviting stuff indeed to contemplate from under a holiday brollie. Just how the Other Half would respond, and how to translate the facts into figures though, remained for investigation.
www.privateproperty.co.za
087 375 1000