The International Monetary Fund says Mozambique’s economy “remains robust”. Growth is forecast at 7.5 percent for 2014, while inflation is expected to be low.

China has scrapped its limit on exports of rare earth minerals. The new policy was implemented on January 1.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has urged Guangdong Province to deepen its integration with neighbouring Macao and Hong Kong, state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

The consumer confidence index in Portugal stabilised in December at -22.3 points, the highest value since May 2002, says the latest report from Statistics Portugal, the country’s official statistics bureau. But the economic climate indicator slightly cooled in November and December, after stabilising at the highest value since July 2008, said the report.

China was the main importer of Angolan products in the third quarter of 2014, according to data published this week by the Angolan National Statistics Institute. Portugal was the main exporter of products to Angola during the period.

The government of Angola has proposed to representatives of international organisations an increase in funding for agricultural programmes under the National Development Plan, the Ministry for Agriculture said in a statement.

Mozambique has the potential to be the world’s third-largest producer of natural gas, after Qatar and Australia. But the country needs to secure between US$20 billion and US$25 billion in foreign investment, according to a report by consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), quoted by news portal Macauhub.

China is poised to remain the biggest importer of Brazil’s farm products for 2014, the nation’s state-run news agency, Xinhua, reported this week.

Tax and customs revenues in 2015 in Mozambique are expected to total 180 billion meticais (US$5.4 billion), said the president of the Mozambique Revenue Authority, Rosário Fernandes.

The renovation to the Presidential Palace of Cape Verde, funded by the Chinese government, will be completed on schedule by year-end. The pledge was made by China’s ambassador to Cape Verde, Su Jian, during his meeting with Julio Cesar Freire de Morais, the African nation’s ambassador to China.

A gauge measuring factory activity in Mainland China dipped to an 18-month low in December. However, the Chinese services sector continued its robust performance, another indicator shows.

The Chinese central bank has pledged to maintain a “prudent monetary policy” while pushing ahead reasonable growth in loans and private financing.