India’s Exim Bank plans to double investment

The Exim Bank of India is planning new investments which will make Mozambique one of its major focuses on the African continent, its chairman of the board Yaduvendra Mathur revealed yesterday in Delhi.According to Mathur, who spoke to ‘O País’ on the sidelines of the 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit that started yesterday in New Delhi, Mozambique aligns well with the bank’s priorities, and new financing agreements for development projects in the country will soon be announced."Mozambique is a country at the centre of our focus. We are committed to working with the Mozambican government on many projects, and there are many proposals we are discussing, which makes us believe that our business in Mozambique will double in the coming years," Mathur said, without citing specific projects or giving figures.Mozambique is currently India’s sixth-biggest export destination in Africa, taking 0.7 percent of the country’s exports worldwide.In foreign direct investment (FDI), Mozambique ranks second after Mauritius, having absorbed just over US$2.6 billion since 1996 according to data released by Exim Bank yesterday.The Mozambique natural resources sector, particularly coal and natural gas, is benefiting from increased investment, with a record high of more than US$2.5 billion in 2013-2014, again coming second to Mauritius with just over double that.Accounting for the investment numbers, Mathur said: "Our relations with Mozambique are very good. We have invested very significant amounts in the production of coal and hydrocarbons. We are also funding the production of bitumen and liquefied natural gas and there are also projects in the electrification area.”