The Portuguese-speaking countries (PSCs) will play a key role in the future of Macao outlined in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) Plan of the Central Government of China.

The government of Angola raised US$16.7 million from the auction of diamonds, the first ever competitive auction and part of a new system to revive interest in the industry.

On Monday (February 18) the Chinese government unveiled its blueprint for a “world-class city cluster” in the southern province of Guangdong and the adjoining Special Administrative Regions (SARs) of Macao and Hong Kong.

Keeping with the political tradition that a new Government in Sao Tome and Principe replaces the leadership of state companies and agencies,  the MLSTP-PSD executive, that replaced that of Patrice Trovoada.

Macau Legislative Assembly (AL) President Ho Iat Seng said he was “actively” considering running in the chief executive election later this year.

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.