Browsing: MC&A Advogados

On October 12th, Law no. 35/20 – the Free Trade Zones Law (“FTZL”) – was passed. The FTZL has established benefits to be conceded to investors by the Angolan Government, aiming at attracting foreign investment in Angola thus creating economic growth.

All types of investment are permitted in the Free Zones, specifically investment in agriculture, industry (that use Angolan raw materials and are focused on exportation) and technology. Specific aspects pertaining the access to Free Zones (such as monetary requirements, number of jobs created, investments in fixed assets) shall be determined in the investment contract.

Access to the Free Zones is permitted to companies, joint ventures, groups of companies or any other form of companies’ representation, whose scope meets the purpose of the Free Zones.

The investments made in Free Zones must take into account environmental protection interests.

Activities to be developed in the Free Zones
In the Free Zones …

Since its creation, the Luanda-Bengo Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ) has been a factor encouraging investment, not only in the region but also in the Angolan economy.

Its economic evolution has been felt over the last few years, in the flourishing of several innovative projects within this project, much due to the commitment and promotion that the Government has made. One of the paradigmatic examples of this commitment is the privatization plan that has been carried out over the last few months, in order to allow for greater competitiveness in the EEZ and an increase in the investment of national and foreign investors in businesses in order to create wealth and increase national productivity.

In addition to diversifying the economy, the EEZ aims to develop business clusters, create jobs and increase exports.

Also Read:  Securing the future of Mozambique finances

For that purpose, the Government has defined a set …

A webinar organised by The Power & Electricity World Africa, entitled “Achieving Energy Security: Encouraging Healthy Competition And Regulation For IPPs”, took place on the morning of July 14th, 2020.

Also Read: Angola’s exceptional measures in force during sanitary enclosure

The attending virtual panel consisted of:

• Dr. Clinton Carter-Brown, Energy Centre Head, CSIR, South Africa – Moderator
• Vitor Marquez da Cruz, Managing Director, MC&A Advogados
• Eng. Julius Riungu, CEO, Tsavo Power, Kenya

The topic of African Energy security and the challenges ahead was debated in a little over an hour, with very insightful contributions from all parties involved being brought to the forefront.

The imbalance of supply and demand for electricity in Africa curbs its potential for economic development. IPPs (Independent Power Producers), though, align very well with the national energy security agenda and are a definite solution to meeting Africa’s growing electricity needs.

Africa currently accounts for …

Bearing in mind the Law number 10/2018, of June 26 (Private Investment Law), which adjusted the legal and institutional framework to perform private investments in Angola, the Angolan Government approved the Private Investment’s Legal Proceedings Regulation in order to allow the capture and execution of investments with faster and easier procedures.

The above mentioned regulation establishes the procedures for the legal registration of proposals of private investment projects, the attribution of benefits and advantages, monitoring, supervision, as well as penalties and extinction of rights granted under the Private Investment Law.

The Private Investment projects begin with the delivery of all the relevant documents besides the competent body of AIPEX (Agency for Private Investment and Promotion of Exports of Angola).

Also Read: Angola set to attract more FDI into oil and gas sector

After receiving the private investment project, AIPEX has 5 working days to communicate the decision.

It is, …

For those investing and particularly interested in Africa, Guinea-Bissau is a country which, so far, has been “under the radar” for most of the investors.

Located in West Africa, bordering with Senegal and Guinea Conakry, Guinea-Bissau is a relatively small country, with 36.125 sq. Km. Around 25% of the total population (estimated in 2.072.000, by figures of April 2020) is based in the capital (Bissau).

The official language is Portuguese, with some other native languages been used (like Balanka, Fula and Mandinka). French is also spoken, due to the influence of the two neighboring countries. Most of the population is Muslim (45%), with 22,1% of Christians and the outstanding percentage spread by indigenous traditional popular religions. Guinea-Bissau is also characterized by a very high level of young population (the medium average age is only 18 years).

Politics in Guinea-Bissau

The political regime is a constitutional democracy, with …

On May 8th, Mozambican Constitutional Council decided that the acts regarding loans to Mozambican state-owned companies (Proindicus, S.A. and MAM, S.A.) and sovereign guarantees given by Mozambican Government are null, and consequently those loans are void.

Having the Mozambican Constitutional Council considered the debts and the guarantees unconstitutional, it means that they never had juridical existence in Mozambique, fact that is reinforced by the circumstance of both National Assembly (through a Parliamentary Inquiry Commission) and Administrative Court had never accepted them as legal.

Constitutional Council based its decision in the following arguments:

1. Mozambican Government could not concede sovereign guarantees of such amounts, since they were superior to the legally established maximum amounts;
2. to grant them, according with Mozambican Constitution, the Government would need to request a legislative authorization to National Assembly, which did not happened;
3. Mozambican Government also violated Mozambican law when agreed loans that were not concessional, since it

As long as Coronavirus pandemic spreads across the planet, National Governments take more measures. To acknowledge and accompany all policies daily adopted happens to be a difficult task. Considering this new reality, we present this Legal Guide, where companies and individuals may easily understand what are the most important laws and rules in force, regarding Coronavirus impact on economy and society.

State of Emergency Decree (Presidential Decree no. 11/2020, March 30)

State of Emergency takes effect between April 1st and 30th, although it has been extended until the 30th of May, on the 29th of April. Its declaration led to the implementation of several measures to mitigate the spread of the virus and safeguard public health, namely:

• Mandatory domiciliary quarantine for 14 days to all people that recently travelled abroad and to those who had contact with confirmed cases of COVID-19. In these cases, it is strictly imperative to comply

A brief conversation with Duarte Marques da Cruz, Partner at the law firm MC&A Advogados about some of the legal aspects that companies operating in Mozambique should be aware during the COVID-19 crisis.…