Chinese company Sinopec could take a stake in Portuguese oil company Galp Energia and is one of two major international oil firms interested, according to the weekly Jornal Economico. Angolan oil company Sonangol is considering a sale of its stake in Galp Energia, and Sinopec is reported to be among the strongest suitors for the acquisition.

After years of delay and deliberation, Mozambique’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry finally looks set to take off. Consortia led by Anadarko and Eni are investing tens of billions of US dollars in liquefaction, while the involvement of China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Corporation (CNODC) and China National Petroleum Company (CNPC) highlights the fact that China will be one of the main customers.

The MLSTP-PSD (Movimento de Libertação de São Tomé e Príncipe- Partido Social Democrata) , the independence party of São Tomé and Príncipe with close ties to the Communist Party of China, is set to form the country’s new government. That will bring an end to the four-year rule of Patrice Trovoada.

The year of 2019 will be critical for Angola, as it aims to recover from three years of economic decline, and for its new president Joao Lourenco. Many players, foreign and domestic, are impatient for improvement.

The government of Mozambique has approved additional investment of US$290 million in the port of Beira, to increase its cargo handling capacity.

The government of Mozambique has agreed a repayment plan with most of its creditors on its defaulted $727 million Eurobond and is also holding talks with the IMF over macro-economic reform.

The suspension by Capital Airlines of its route between Beijing and Lisbon was a disappointment for both Portuguese and Chinese governments, but the route is set to resume in the next few months, operated by a much larger carrier - Air China.

The government of Portugal wants to access a US$1-billion Chinese fund for co-operation projects in Portuguese-speaking countries based in Macao since 2017. It is also preparing to nominate a new permanent representative to the Forum Macao.

A few weeks after a micro-finance legal framework came into force, São Tomé and Príncipe is about to update its national payment system and impose new rules on the banking sector. It will give new powers to the country´s central bank.

The wide ranging corruption scandal tore the Brazilian political and business community asunder and its effects will be felt for many years to come. The fallout from the crisis has been felt in many other parts of the world, not least in the African Lusophone states.