Maputo, Aug. 11, 2026 (Lusa) - The Mozambique Sovereign Wealth Fund (FSM) will manage 70% of its investments based on US indices and 30% on European indices, and is prohibited from investing in Mozambican companies or assets, or in the oil and gas sector.
These guidelines are set out in the FSM's Investment Master Plan, recently approved by the Government and to which Lusa gained access on Tuesday, setting out rules for the allocation of funds during the initial phase of operations. It stipulates that the investment portfolio will be managed on the basis of two international benchmark indices, comprising sovereign bonds from the United States and the Eurozone, with 70% allocated to the ICE BofA 0–5 Year US Treasury Index and 30% to the ICE BofA 0–3 Year Euro Government Index.
The document stipulates that the operational management of the funds will be undertaken by the Bank of Mozambique (BM), through an intermediate management strategy based on replicating the benchmark indices, allowing only limited deviations to optimise risk-adjusted returns.
The plan sets out restrictions on permitted investments, excluding investments directly related to the Mozambican economy. According to the document, investments in «assets issued by Mozambican companies or linked to the local economy, and those with exposure to the oil and gas sector» are prohibited, as are «short selling transactions».
This restriction arises precisely because the FSM is financed by revenue from natural gas exploration. The plan justifies the strategy on the basis of the fund's management objectives, such as «ensuring liquidity», «preserving capital by prioritising low-risk instruments» and «maximising investment returns, subject to market conditions and risk limits».
It stipulates that at least 75% of the portfolio must remain invested in government bonds included in the benchmark indices, limiting exposure to other financial instruments to a maximum of 25%. Eligible instruments include Treasury bills, fixed-term deposits, certificates of deposit, commercial paper, sovereign bonds, instruments issued by government agencies, multilateral organisations and certain covered bank bonds.
The document also sets risk limits, including a minimum credit rating of A-, a maximum difference of one notch between the average quality of the portfolio and that of the benchmark indices, and a maximum exposure of 10% to a single issuer not included in the benchmark indices.
Operating costs for investment management are estimated at $73,000 (€62,000) in 2026 and $95,000 (€81,000) in 2027, including financial platforms, information systems, custody services and benchmark index providers.
The FSM was established to support the country's economic and social development, accumulate savings for future generations and contribute to the stabilisation of the state budget; it is funded primarily by revenue from natural gas megaprojects.
The value of the FSM grew by more than 7.5% in the first seven months under the World Bank's management, reaching $118.3 million (€100.8 million), according to figures reported by Lusa in July. On 10 December 2025, the Government handed over to BM, the fund's manager, the first $109.97 million (€93.7 million) in gas exploration revenues, to capitalise the FSM and launch its operations. On 6 January, a further capital injection was made, amounting to $6.159 million (€5.2 million).
As at 2 July, the FSM had capital of $118.021 million (€100.6 million).
On 15 December 2023, the Mozambican parliament approved the creation of the FSM, stipulating that it should be funded by 40% of the annual revenue from natural gas production, which is expected to reach $6 billion (€5.11 billion) per year in the 2040s.
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