Mozambique eyes commodities boom

Mozambique has discovered large amounts of natural gas - can the extraction of this act as a catalyst for economic growth and development or will Mozambique be added to the long list of countries who have experienced a natural resource curse?Manuel Chang, Mozambique's minister of finance, says economic growth is only part of the story of a country's development. He tells Javier Blas of the Financial Times how his nation plans to make the most of its vast natural resources.Manufacturing output in the African continent accounts for less than 2% of global manufacturing production.

According to a recent report on natural resource wealth in Mozambique

"Experience shows that the quality of governance and institutional capability are a key for countries to be able to translate natural capital into other forms of capital in an effective way. A variety of governance indicators show that Mozambique's institutions are relatively weak, raising concern about the country's ability to manage natural resources well."

Manufacturing output (% of global total)

1. Europe: 24.7%
2. North America: 22.4%
3. Asia & Pacific: 21.7%
4. East Asia: 17.2%
5. Others: 6.7%
6. Latin America: 5.8%
7. Africa: 1.5%

Source: Unido

Basic data:

• Population: 25.20million (2012)
• GDP: $14.24billion (2012)
• GDP growth: 7.4% (2012)
• Inflation: 4.2% (2013)

Update: Financial Times, June 2014