Publications
Publications
- November 1999 (Revised April 2003)
- HBS Case Collection
Financing the Mozal Project
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Fuaad Qureshi
Abstract
It is June 1997, and a team from the International Finance Corp. (IFC) is recommending that the board approve a $120 million investment in a $1.4 billion aluminum smelter in Mozambique, known as the Mozal project. Four factors make the investment controversial: it would be the IFC's largest investment in the world, total investment is almost the size of Mozambique's gross domestic project (GDP), Mozambique had only recently emerged from 20 years of civil war, and several key contractual issues were still undecided. Because commercial bankers have refused to finance the deal unless the IFC is involved, the sponsors have requested IFC participation. Whether the IFC's board will agree that it is the right time and the right place to make such a large investment remains to be seen.
Keywords
Investment; Capital Markets; Emerging Markets; Projects; Financial Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Developing Countries and Economies; Metals and Minerals; Financial Strategy; Government and Politics; International Finance; Infrastructure; Mozambique
Citation
Esty, Benjamin C., and Fuaad Qureshi. "Financing the Mozal Project." Harvard Business School Case 200-005, November 1999. (Revised April 2003.)