Maputo, Nov. 11, 2025 (Lusa) - Mozambican sovereign debt fell during the third quarter to 1.068 trillion meticais (€14.5 billion), according to a report by the Ministry of Finance to which Lusa had access on Tuesday.
According to the third quarter budget execution data, 41.6% of the total debt stock as of 30 September was domestic debt, including advances from the Bank of Mozambique and Treasury Bond and Treasury Bill issues, while the remaining 58.4% was external debt.
This volume of debt compares with the record, renewed at the end of the second quarter, when Mozambique's debt stock reached 1.072 trillion meticais (€14.6 billion) on 30 June, according to previous data from the Ministry of Finance, which was then an increase of 0.1% on the previous quarter.
This is a 0.9% decline over three months, according to the government, mainly due to the amortisation of Treasury Bonds.
Mozambique's Finance Minister, Carla Loveira, said on 29 October that the sustainability of public debt is "one of the biggest challenges" facing the Mozambican economy and that "reforms" are underway to ensure its sustainable management.
"One of the biggest challenges facing our economy is the sustainability of public debt. It is our obligation, as managers of state finances, to ensure that every metical borrowed is used efficiently, productively and responsibly," said Carla Loveira.
The minister said that "a series of reforms are underway to ensure the sustainability of the public debt", which include drawing up the Public Debt Management Strategy covering the period from 2025 to 2029, revising the regulation that establishes the legal framework for the capital market and "identifying specialised advice on public debt matters".
"These actions are aimed at strengthening the mechanisms for managing, controlling and monitoring national public debt levels, ensuring that the public debt is sustainable and creating more fiscal space for financing productive infrastructure projects with proven economic and social returns," she said.
Carla Loveira added that Mozambique's government maintains a "permanent dialogue" with "international partners, to ensure that the national debt policy remains within the limits of fiscal sustainability and in line with international best practices".
"Responsibility in contracting and utilising public debt is not only technical, it is also ethical and intergenerational, as it defines the economic legacy we will leave to future generations," he said.
Lusa reported on 27 October that Mozambique's government had hired Alvarez & Marçal from the United States to "assist in the preparation of the public debt restructuring plan" for Mozambique, according to a cabinet decision.
The international consultancy was hired by direct agreement and aims to draw up a plan to restructure the country's public debt, "in line with the government's objectives of ensuring fiscal consolidation in the short and medium term", but also to "provide support in drawing up the Public Debt Strategy 2026-2029".
Alvarez & Marsal, with headquarters in New York and a global presence, is described as a specialist in recovery and performance improvement, with interventions such as those at Lehman Brothers.
The governor of the Bank of Mozambique, Rogério Zandamela, warned on 29 September that the country's public debt could not continue to grow, expecting the government to take measures to contain it: "It cannot grow. I know, I'm sure, that the government is doing everything it can to keep this debt at reasonable levels so it doesn't create problems for the economy. Because if it continues to grow to the point where it reaches worrying levels of unsustainability, it could cause problems."
PVJ/ADB // ADB.
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