The government of Portugal has announced that it will proceed with plans for a space port on the island of Santa Maria in the Azores. Named the Atlantic International Satellite Launch Programme (AISLP), it will be used to launch small satellites into space, as Lisbon attempts to make use of its geographical advantages to host the project. A separate space sector cooperation agreement between China and Portugal could encourage Chinese companies to make use of the new facility.

In it´s ongoing effort to boost investment and diversify its economy away from oil, Angola has seen a flurry of activity in February concerning the creation of a capital market and the stock exchange, a long-time goal that could become a reality with the privatization of some of the country´s biggest companies.

The government of Mozambique, heavily in debt, is increasingly unlikely to repay a debt of US$2 billion to Credit Suisse contracted by a former Finance Minister who is being detained in South Africa.

Portugal and some other highly indebted Southern European states have welcomed Chinese investment with open arms. Still struggling to escape the legacy of the 2008-09 economic crisis, they are desperate for infrastructural investment.

Sonangol, the national oil company of Angola, is close to sales of assets that should earn it billions of dollars and enable it to reduce its heavy debts and invest more in the oil sector, the engine of Angola’s economy.

The government of Cabo Verde has taken a majority stake in the country’s largest bank, Caixa Económica de Cabo Verde (CECV), and the company that was previously its largest shareholder has sold its entire holding.

Angola’s President João Lourenço has turned his attention to the port sector, both in an effort to assert his authority politically and also to improve the ports themselves. Angola has four main existing and planned ports running north to south: Caio in Cabinda, Luanda and the associated planned port of Barra do Dande, Lobito and Namibe, but Luanda is currently by far the most important.

Beijing has approved a much-awaited blueprint to create an IT-led economic powerhouse in southern China after ironing out intricate competition and technical issues, and will unveil it in late February

The new Angolan government´s effort to boost Angola´s image as a foreign investment destination will be assisted by the new Extended Credit Facility  (ECF) between the country and IMF, but for companies and the population some of the policies agreed will mean worrisome price hikes.

In recent weeks, the government of Mozambique has been involved in intense negotiations with seven countries to secure funding for one of its largest natural gas projects and overcome scepticism about whether it will honour its debt commitments.