Driven by LNG megaprojects, FDI reaches 1.88 billion dollars

Maputo, 11 Nov (AIM) – The Bank of Mozambique, in its role as regulator of the national financial system, has recorded, in the first half of 2026, 1.88 billion US dollars as a result of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country.

This figure corresponds to 33 percent of the amount attracted throughout 2025, mainly in the gas and mining sectors.

According to data from Bank of Mozambique, this amount consists of inflows of 1.286 billion dollars in the first quarter of 2026 and 594.5 million dollars in the second quarter.

The document points out that despite the slowdown observed between April and June, the structure of foreign investment remains largely dominated by megaprojects associated with natural resources, particularly natural gas, oil and mining, which continue to absorb most of the external capital directed towards the Mozambican economy.

In the documents accompanying the Economic and Social Plan and State Budget (PESOE), the government projected a new historic high of 5.88 billion dollars in FDI for 2026, driven mainly by progress on liquefied natural gas projects in the north of the country.

The dominance of this sector extends the trend observed in 2025, when Mozambique recorded a record 5.693 billion in foreign direct investment, an increase of 60.2 percent compared with the previous year.

The Mozambican branch of the South African Standard Bank believes that the Rovuma LNG Project, which is led by the US oil and gas company ExxonMobil, in Rovuma Basin, northern province of Cabo Delgado, may add on average approximately 11 billion US dollars to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually.

The project, which is close to the Final Investment Decision (FID), is expected to generate, over the course of 30 years, up to 150 billion US dollars in revenue for the Mozambican state. With an estimated investment of 30 billion dollars before the start of production –currently scheduled for 2030 – Rovuma LNG is described as the largest commercial project in African history.

According to the government, by 2030, Mozambique’s annual growth rate will have reached almost ten per cent. But this is dependent on the LNG projects.

The American Financial Consulting firm Deloitte believes that Mozambique’s natural gas reserves represent potential revenue of 100 billion dollars.

Am/