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.

The ambitious projects of Macao businessman David Chow Kam Fai in Cabo Verde are facing new hurdles in the form of an examination by its central bank. It may not grant him permission to open a new bank there. So Chow is exploring investment opportunities in Mozambique instead.

While the Brazilian economy struggles to get back on track after an extremely difficult decade, its hydrocarbon wealth continues to attract international interest. State owned Petrobras dominates the upstream and refining sectors but has been forced to sanction foreign investment because of its own financial difficulties. At the same time, Brazil’s engineering giants have been blocked from bidding for some contracts, providing opportunities that may previously have been closed off.

On October 23, China’s President Xi Jinping will open the Hong Kong-Macao-Zhuhai bridge, the first land link between the SAR and the west bank of the Pearl River.

A giant Sino-Mozambican port project has a new local partner, the Muyaque Group, linked to one of the country’s most important families.

The government of Angola has announced that it will finally join the Southern African Development Community (SADC) free trade zone next year.