Mozambique reduced the debt to its three largest bilateral creditors in the second quarter by 31.8 million euros, especially Portugal, whose credit to the Mozambican state fell by 18.6 million euros in three months.
© Lusa
06/10/2026
by
Lusa
DaDAES of the Public Debt Bulletin of the second quarter of 2026 consulted today by Lusa indicate that the ‘stock’ of the bilateral debt to China, Japan and Portugal fell globally from 2,100 million dollars (1.795 million euros) in March to 2,063 million dollars (1.763 million euros) in June, thus reducing by 37.2 million dollars (31.8 million euros).
The reduction was driven mainly by payments made to Portugal, whose exposure fell from US$ 405.84 million (EUR 347.1 million) to US$ 384.06 million (EUR 328.5 million), a decrease of US$ 21.78 million (EUR 18.6 million), corresponding to 5.4% in the quarter.
The stock of China’s debt, Mozambique’s main bilateral creditor, went from $1,293 million (EUR 1,106 million) to 1,284 million (EUR 1,098 million), a reduction of $8,84 million (EUR 7,6 million).
The debt to Japan decreased from USD 402 million (EUR 343.6 million) to USD 395 million (EUR 338 million), minus USD 6.57 million (EUR 5.6 million).
Despite the reduction, China remains prominently the largest bilateral creditor in Mozambique, concentrating 14.5% of the country's entire foreign debt and a volume more than three times that of Portugal and Japan.
The total stock of Mozambican foreign debt fell from US$8,918 million (EUR 7,628 million) to US$8,851 million (EUR 7,571 million) between March and June, a decline of US$67 million (57.3 million).
The Ministry of Finance assigns this evolution to the “refund of some credits earned during the period”, which contributed to the maintenance of the downward trajectory of the external debt.
In all bilateral creditors, Mozambique depreciated USD 59.2 million (EUR 50.7 million) in capital during the second quarter.
Payments included USD 21,78 million (EUR 18,6 million) to Portugal, USD 8,83 million (EUR 7,6 million) to China and USD 7,88 million (EUR 6,7 million) to Japan, among other creditors.
China continues to finance some of the country's largest infrastructure projects, while Portugal maintains relevant positions in sectors such as energy, water supply and transport.
Japan remains among the main concessional financing partners, especially in infrastructure and economic development projects.
The three countries represented together 23.3% of Mozambican foreign debt at the end of June.
The Monetary Policy Committee (CMO) of the Bank of Mozambique warned this week that “delays persist” in the payment of public, internal and external debt, reducing the “appearance” of the market for securities.
“The maintenance of delayed internal and external debt continues to condition the normal functioning of the financial market”, warns the final statement of the CPMO meeting, Wednesday, in Maputo.
According to data from the Ministry of Finance, Mozambique’s public and guaranteed debt increased in the second quarter to 1,146 billion meticals (EUR 15,2 billion), equivalent to 75.9% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), “influenced mainly by the increase in internal debt”, which increased by 3% with new issues within the Central Bank’s Credit Facility and by the roll of interest from Treasury Obligations”.