London:  Mozambique capital Maputo is hotting up as a magnet for companies aspiring to be significant South African coal exporters, following a Vitol joint venture deal, industry sources said on Wednesday. The port has been used on a small scale for coal exports which shippers were unable to move from the main export hub, Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT), but is now the centre of major expansion plans for South African coal.

Addis Ababa:  Mozambican President Armando Guebuza on Sunday called for the removal of "excessively protectionist" practices and policies that hinder trade between African countries. He was speaking in the debate at the African Union summit in Addis Ababa on the theme of "Boosting intra-African trade". Guebuza stressed that economic integration had become a matter of survival.

London:  The Brazilian government is to open a credit line of 97.59 million US dollars for Mozambique to purchase agricultural machinery and equipment made in Brazil. The credit is part of the Ministry of Agrarian Development's "More Food Programme" and will be supported by technical assistance.

Maputo: The US plans to give Mozambique equipment to improve customs inspections and will help the southern African nation restart its clothing and textile industry, the U.S. embassy said. It will also add fruit juices to the list of products Mozambique can ship to the U.S. under the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act, which offers certain countries duty-free status, the embassy in Maputo, Mozambique’s capital, said in an e-mailed statement today.

Gaborone: At some point this year, the Government of Botswana and its neighbours will probably have to make a decision that will shape the economic future of the country and the region and result in by far the biggest infrastructure investment in Botswana's history. The question the leadership will face is the direction of the new proposed railway to the coast - should it be to the Atlantic Ocean, i.e. the Trans-Kalahari route to Walvis Bay in Namibia, or to the Indian Ocean via Zimbabwe to Southern Mozambique?

Maputo: A delegation of the United States government is visiting Maputo until Friday in order to carry out the revision of the United States-Mozambique Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, according to a report in Mozambican newspaper Notícias. Known as TIFA, the agreement that is currently in place between the US and Mozambique was signed in June, 2005.

Durban: Grindrod Limited, the JSE listed integrated logistics services supplier and the Vitol Group, one of the world's largest energy trading businesses, have entered into an agreement effective 1 January 2012. Vitol will acquire from Grindrod a 35% interest in the company which owns the Maputo coal terminal concession for a consideration of US$67.7 million. In addition Vitol and Grindrod will enter into a partnership (65% Vitol / 35% Grindrod) to combine their respective sub Saharan coal trading businesses.

Maputo:  Contrary to initial statements, the Mozambican electricity company, EDM, has interrupted the supply of power to Swaziland, but this is for technical reasons.  The Swazi press on Monday cited Sifiso Dhlamini, Corporate Communications Manager of the Swaziland Electricity Company (SEC), as claiming that EDM had suspended power supplies for an “indefiniteâ€� period.

Maputo:  Ncondezi Coal Ltd., seeking to build a coal mine in Mozambique, signed an agreement with Rio Tinto Group and Minas de Revuboe to study the construction of a port and railways in the African nation. The deal gives Ncondezi the right to access as much as 10 million metric tons of rail and port capacity a year, it said today in a statement.

Maputo:  Reconstruction work on the Beira-Machipanda railway began a few days ago in the most critical parts of the route where equipment is obsolete and derailments have occurred, the director for Transport and Communication of Mozambique’s Sofala province said. Speaking to Mozambican daily newspaper Notícias, Carlos Isidoro said that the work would be concluded within eight months although he gave no figure for the cost of the work.