Dugongo, a Chinese-financed Mozambican cement company, has been shortlisted as a candidate for the auction promoted by the Angolan state for the privatisation of the cement unit of the Chinese business group China International Fund (CIF), to take place on 28 April.
A statement by Angola’s Institute for Asset Management and State Participation (IGAPE) said the CIF Cement plant and Logistics Center is one of five companies in the beverages, cement, logistics and automobile sectors to be auctioned off in the coming days. Other candidates for the cement plant are the consortiums Griner/Ciment/Mercons (Angola) and H&S/Yupeng (China), as well as China-based Huaxin Cement Ltd. The plant has a capacity of 3.8Mta.
Dozens of properties and industries belonging to CIF were seized in 2020 by the National Asset Recovery Service of the Attorney General's Office (PGR), as part of investigations related to anti-corruption and recovery of public funds. CIF is a private Chinese company headquartered in Hong Kong that was founded in 2003 to finance national reconstruction and infrastructure development projects in developing countries, principally Africa.
Two former governors of the late former Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos, Leopoldino Fragoso do Nascimento "Dino" and Helder Vieira Dias, are among those currently on trial for various alleged offences including embezzlement, fraud by defrauding, falsification of documents, criminal association, abuse of power, money laundering and influence peddling. Also standing trial are the companies CIF Angola, Plansmart International Ltd and Utter Right International Ltd, who allegedly were used by the defendants to set up a scheme involving a financing agreement between Angola and China to support national reconstruction after the Angolan civil war.
