The performance of national companies continued to improve in the fourth quarter of 2023, increasing by 1 percentage point to 30%, compared to 29% in the previous quarter.
According to the 14th edition of the Corporate Robustness Index (IRE) report, computed by CTA and presented in the 15th edition of the Economic Briefing, this performance, although higher than the previous quarter, is still quite fragile.
Among the reasons that negatively influenced the companies’ performance was the fact that Q4 was the final part of the agricultural marketing season and the corresponding start of preparations for the new season. There were also constraints on agricultural marketing, including logistical issues, difficulties in accessing phytosanitary certificates, high interest rates and a reduction in demand for goods and services from the state.
However, the IRE report points out that, despite some administrative issues, in the fourth quarter of 2023 there were some improvements on the issue of pigeon peas, which resulted in the export of hundreds of tons of this commodity, which is produced by the family sector and whose main market is India.
Another aspect has to do with the high financial burden on banks. At the last session of the Monetary Policy Committee (CPMO), the Bank of Mozambique signaled the start of the cycle of gradual reduction of the MIMO rate, having reduced the monetary policy interest rate.
The Private Sector expects this move to mean a relief in bank charges and expansion of the possibilities for SMEs to access credit.
In addition, in the fourth quarter of 2023, foreign transactions became more difficult, caused by the recent foreign exchange regulations which saw many grey areas in the authorization process. Likewise, foreign exchange liquidity flows to the market, i.e. the difference between what commercial banks sold to companies and what they bought from them, fell by around 40% in the period under review, compared to Q3 of the same year.
