China and India were the countries with the largest number of companies officially licensed to operate in Mozambique’s Tete province as of the first half of this year, Mozambican news agency AIM reported.

Domingos Macajo, executive director of Single Service Desk – a Mozambique government initiative aimed at simplifying administrative procedures for business – was quoted as saying 82 licences were awarded to foreign companies in the first six months of this year. Of those, 19 were granted to Indian companies while 18 were attributed to Chinese investors.

Mr Macajo added that a total of 352 business permits were granted in Tete in the first six months – up by 7 percent year-on-year – in the fields of wholesale and retail trade, services, and transport. This would result in the creation of 1,723 jobs for the province, he added.