Wednesday, 21 July 2004 | FIRST SERIES - Number 29

GAZETTE OF THE REPUBLIC

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOZAMBIQUE

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NATIONAL PRESS OF MOZAMBIQUE

NOTICE

The material to be published in the "Gazette of the Republic" must be submitted in duly authenticated copy, one for each subject, which must contain, in addition to the necessary indications for this purpose, the following endorsement, signed and authenticated: For publication in the "Gazette of the Republic"

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Assembly of the Republic:

Law No. 8/2004:
Approves the Telecommunications Law, and revokes Law No. 14/99, of 1 November.

Law No. 9/2004:
Amends articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 32, 40, 41, 49, 51, 52, 55, 59, 65, 66, 68, 73, 77, 78, 79, 81, 83, 84, 106, 107, 110, 116, 117, 118, 119 and 120, of Law No. 15/99, of 1 November.

Ministry of the Interior:

Ministerial Diploma No. 119/2004:
Grants Mozambican nationality, by naturalization, to Samgi Lalá.

Ministerial Diploma No. 120/2004:
Grants Mozambican nationality, by naturalization, to Ashraf Ali Mohammad Ali.

Ministerial Diploma No. 121/2004:
Grants Mozambican nationality, by naturalization, to Lauriano Gonçalves.

Ministerial Diploma No. 122/2004:
Grants Mozambican nationality, by naturalization, to Stilian Hristov Simeonov.

Ministerial Diploma No. 123/2004:
Grants Mozambican nationality, by naturalization, to Pedro Ivo Lopes de Matos Neves.

Information Office:

Dispatch:
Appoints Victor Fernando Mbebe, as a member of the Board of Directors of TVM-EP.

Dispatch:
Appoints Michaque José Mambo as a member of the Board of

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ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC

Law No. 8/2004
of 21 July

Taking into account the rapid development that characterizes the telecommunications sector, as well as its technological evolution, it becomes necessary that the national legal framework be compatible and adjust to such phenomena, in order to face emerging challenges.

In these terms, under the provisions of paragraph 1 of article 135 of the Constitution, the Assembly of the Republic determines:

CHAPTER I
General Provisions

Article 1
(Definitions)

The meaning of the terms and expressions used is contained in the glossary attached to this Law, which forms an integral part of it.

Article 2
(Object)

This Law aims to define the general bases of the telecommunications sector, in order to ensure market liberalization and a competition regime.

Article 3
(Objectives)

The objectives of this Law are:

a) the promotion of the availability of high-quality public telecommunications services; b) the promotion of private investment in the telecommunications sector; c) the promotion of universal access service to guarantee the existence and availability of public telecommunications services; d) the establishment of competition rules among operators and service providers of telecommunications services to guarantee the creation of non-discriminatory and competitive conditions for all operators or service providers of telecommunications services; e) the guarantee of the pursuit of public interest and the preservation of national security; f) the guarantee of the existence, availability and quality of public telecommunications networks that satisfy the needs of citizens and economic and social activities throughout the national territory, as well as guaranteeing international connections; g) the promotion of the establishment of standards in order to create a favorable climate for the global development of telecommunications and information and communication technologies, in the interest of development

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Tariffs – Value approved by INCM corresponding to the amount to be paid by clients, corresponding to the telecommunications services provided by telecommunications operators.
Annual telecommunications rate – Percentage value, stated in the telecommunications license to be paid to INCM, originating from the gross revenue of telecommunications network operators for the previous fiscal year. Fees – Fixed or percentage value to be paid to INCM by network operators and telecommunications service providers. Telecommunications – Transmission, emission or reception of signals representing symbols, writing, images, sounds or information of any nature, by wires, radioelectric means, optical or other electromagnetic systems, which are not radio broadcasts.

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Law No. 9/2004
of 21 July

Given the need to update Law No. 15/99, of 1 November, Law on Credit Institutions and Financial Companies, the Assembly of the Republic, under the provisions of paragraph 1 of article 135 of the Constitution, determines:

ARTICLE 1
(Amendment of articles)

Articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 32, 40, 41, 49, 51, 52, 55, 59, 65, 66, 68, 73, 77, 78, 79, 81, 83, 84, 106, 107, 108, 110, 116, 117, 118, 119 and 120, of Law No. 15/99, of 1 November, are amended, which shall henceforth read as follows:

"Article 1
(Object of the Law)

1..................................................................................................
2. Insurance companies and pension fund management companies are not covered by this Law.

Article 2
(Definitions)

1. For the purposes of this Law, the following are understood by:

a) Credit institutions: companies that are part of one of the species provided for in article 3 of this Law, whose activity consists, notably, in receiving deposits or other refundable funds from the public, when the legal regime of the respective species expressly permits, in order to apply them on their own account, by granting credit;
b) ...............................................................................................
2. Also for the purposes of this Law, the following are understood by:

a) ...............................................................................................
b) ...............................................................................................
c) Exchange houses: financial companies whose main object is the purchase and sale of foreign currency and traveler's checks, and may also carry out other exchange operations under the terms established in the applicable legislation; d) Discount houses: financial companies whose main object is the discounting of bills and similar operations, under the terms established in the applicable legislation; e) Credit: act by which an entity, acting for consideration, places or promises to place funds at the disposal of another entity against the promise that the latter returns them

f) Credit cooperatives: credit institutions constituted in the form of cooperative societies, whose activity is developed exclusively for the benefit of their members; g) Deposit: contract by which an entity receives funds from another, having the right to dispose of them for its business and assuming the responsibility to return the same amount, with or without interest, within the agreed period or at the request of the depositor; h) Branch: legal entity with respect to which another legal entity, designated as the parent company, is in a relationship of control, considering that the branch of a branch is also a branch of the parent company from which both depend; i) Electronic money institutions: credit institutions whose main object is the issuance of payment instruments in the form of electronic money, under the terms established in the applicable legislation. Electronic money is understood as monetary value represented by a credit against the issuer and that:

1. is stored on an electronic medium;
2. is accepted as a means of payment by entities other than the issuer.

j) Microbanks: credit institutions whose main object is the exercise of restricted banking activity, operating, notably in microfinance, under the terms defined in the applicable legislation. Microfinance is understood as the activity consisting of the provision of financial services, essentially in operations of small and medium size. k) Qualified participation: holding in a company, directly or indirectly, a percentage not less than 10% of the capital or voting rights. The voting rights of the participant are considered equivalent to:

i. the rights held by entities controlled by it or which are in a group relationship with it;
ii. the rights held by the spouse not judicially separated or by a minor descendant;
iii. the rights held by other entities, in their own name or on behalf of others, but on account of the participant or the persons referred to above;
iv. the rights inherent to shares of which the participant holds the usufruct.

l) Relationship of control: relationship that occurs between a natural or legal person and a company, when the person in question is in one of the following situations:

i. holds, directly or indirectly, the majority of voting rights, considering equivalent to the voting rights of the participant the rights of any other company that is in a group relationship with it;
ii. is a shareholder of the company and controls alone, by virtue of an agreement concluded with other shareholders, the majority of voting rights;
iii. holds a participation not less than 20% of the company's capital, provided that it effectively exercises a dominant influence over it or both are under single direction;
iv. is a shareholder of the company and has the right to appoint or dismiss more than half of the members of the administrative or supervisory body;

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m) Group relationship: relationship that occurs between two or more natural or legal persons that constitute a single entity from the point of view of the risk assumed, because they are so linked that, in the event that one of them encounters financial problems, the other or all the others will probably have difficulties in fulfilling their obligations. Except for public companies or of another nature controlled by the State, it is considered that this group relationship exists, notably when:

i. there is a relationship of control of one over the other or over the others;
ii. there are common shareholders or associates, who exercise influence on the companies in question;
iii. there are common administrators;
iv. there is direct commercial interdependence that cannot be replaced in the short term.

n) Proximity relationship: relationship between two or more persons, natural or legal:

I. Linked to each other through:

i) a participation, understood as holding, directly or indirectly, a percentage not less than 20% of the capital or voting rights of a company; ii) a relationship of control.

II. Linked to a third person through a relationship of control.

o) Group purchasing management companies: financial companies whose exclusive object is the management of group purchases. Group purchasing is understood as the system of acquiring goods or services by which a determined set of persons, designated participants, constitutes a common fund, through the periodic delivery of monetary installments with a view to the acquisition, by each participant, of those goods or services over a previously established period of time; p) Brokerage companies: financial companies whose main object is the exercise of stock market intermediation activity, through the receipt of orders from investors for the transaction of securities and their execution, and may, within the scope of the securities market, carry out other activities permitted to them by the applicable legislation; q) Venture capital companies: financial companies whose main object is the support and promotion of investment in companies, through temporary participation in their share capital, under the terms defined by the applicable legislation; r) Factoring companies: credit institutions whose main object is the exercise of factoring or financial assignment activity. Factoring or financial assignment is understood as the contract by which one of the parties (factor) acquires from the other (adherent) short-term credits, derived from the sale of products or the provision of services to a third person (debtor); s) Investment companies: credit institutions whose main object is the granting of credit and the provision of related services under the terms that they

t) Financial leasing companies: credit institutions whose main object is the exercise of financial leasing activity. Financial leasing is understood as the contract by which one of the parties (lessor) undertakes, for consideration, to cede to the other (lessee) the temporary enjoyment of a movable or immovable thing, acquired or constructed at the indication of the lessee, which may or may not be affected to a productive investment or to services of manifest economic or social interest, and which the lessee may purchase, after the agreed period, for a determined or determinable price by simple application of the criteria fixed in the contract; u) Brokerage financial companies: financial companies whose main object is the exercise of stock market intermediation activity, whether through the receipt of orders from investors for the transaction of securities and their execution, or through the carrying out of purchase and sale operations of securities on their own account, and may carry out other activities within the scope of the securities market, permitted to them by the applicable legislation; v) Asset management companies: financial companies whose main object is the exercise of the activity of administering sets of assets belonging to third parties, under the terms permitted by the applicable legislation; w) Investment fund management companies: financial companies whose main object is the administration, on behalf of the participants, of one or more investment funds. Investment funds are understood as the set of values resulting from investments of capital received from the public and represented by participation units; x) Credit card issuing or management companies: financial companies whose main object is the issuance or management of credit cards, under the terms defined in the applicable legislation; y) Subsidiary: main establishment, in Mozambique, of a credit institution or financial company with headquarters abroad, or main establishment abroad, of a credit institution or financial company with headquarters in Mozambique, lacking legal personality and which carries out directly, in whole or in part, operations inherent to the activity of the company; z) Consolidated basis supervision: supervision carried out by the Bank of Mozambique to credit institutions and financial companies obliged, under the applicable legislation, to present consolidated accounts, notably because they are considered parent companies of other legal entities, their branches or in which they hold financial participations, or are still linked to them by some other relationship or interest considered relevant, under the applicable legislation. Without prejudice to other complementary elements required by the applicable legislation, consolidated accounts are understood as the balance sheet

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Article 3
(Species of credit institutions)

Credit institutions are:
a) ...............................................................................................
b) ...............................................................................................
c) ...............................................................................................
d) ...............................................................................................
e) ...............................................................................................
f) microbanks, in the various types admitted in the applicable legislation; g) electronic money institutions; h) other companies that, corresponding to the definition of paragraph 1, letter a) of article 2, are so qualified by Decree of the Council of Ministers.

Article 4
(Activity of credit institutions)

1. Banks may exercise the following activities:
   a) ...............................................................................................
   b) credit operations, including granting guarantees and other commitments;
   c) ...............................................................................................
   d) ...............................................................................................
   e) ...............................................................................................
   f) ...............................................................................................
   g) ...............................................................................................
   h) ...............................................................................................
   i) ...............................................................................................
   j) ...............................................................................................
   k) ...............................................................................................
   l) ...............................................................................................
   m) ...............................................................................................

2. Banks may also be authorized to exercise the activities of financial leasing and factoring.

3. The remaining credit institutions may only carry out the operations permitted to them by the legislation governing their

Article 5
(Species of financial companies)

Financial companies are:
a) ...............................................................................................
b) ...............................................................................................
c) ...............................................................................................
d) ...............................................................................................
e) ...............................................................................................
f) ...............................................................................................
g) credit card issuing or management companies; h) exchange houses; i) discount houses; j) other companies that, corresponding to the definition of paragraph 1, letter b) of article 2, are so qualified by Decree of the Council of Ministers.

Article 6
(Activities of financial companies)

Financial companies may only carry out the operations permitted to them by the specific legislation governing their

Article 7
(Principle of exclusivity)

1. Only credit institutions may exercise the activity of receiving, from the public, deposits or other refundable funds, for use on their own account.
2. ...................................................................................................
3. ...................................................................................................
4. The provisions of paragraph 2 of this article do not prevent the following entities from carrying out the activity of granting credit:
   a) ...............................................................................................
   b) natural persons and other legal entities not provided for in the previous paragraphs, under the terms of the applicable legislation.
   ...................................................................................................

Article 10
(Truth of firm names or denominations)

1. Only credit institutions and financial companies may include in their firm name or denomination, or use in the exercise of their activity, expressions that suggest activity inherent to credit institutions or financial companies, notably "bank", "banker", "microbank", "of credit", "of deposits", "financial leasing", "leasing" and "factoring".
2. ...................................................................................................

Article 11
(General requirements)

1. ...................................................................................................
2. In addition to the requirements provided for in letters a) and d) of the previous paragraph, financial companies with headquarters in Mozambique must have as their main object one or more of the activities referred to in letters b) to g) of paragraph 1 of article 4 or another provided for in the applicable legislation.
3. ...................................................................................................
4. The capital of credit institutions and financial companies must be fully paid within 6 months, from the date of constitution or the date of subscription, in the case of a capital increase.
5. The realization of social capital, both in the context of constitution and in cases of increase, is made by depositing the respective amount in a credit institution operating in the country and which is not the company itself.
6. Whenever the situation justifies it, notably taking into account its size and scope of implantation, upon prior request from the proponents duly justified, the Bank of Mozambique may authorize the constitution of microbanks with exemption from the requirement of letter b) of paragraph 1 of this article.

Article 12
(Administrative body or equivalent)

1. The management of credit institutions and financial companies is entrusted to a board of directors or equivalent body.
2. The creation of any body, collegiate or individual, to which the current management of the credit institution or financial company is attributed, notably executive direction or executive director, executive committee, directive council or equivalents, must be stated or provided for in the statutes, with indication

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Article 13
(Authorization of constitution)

The constitution of credit institutions and financial companies depends on authorization to be granted, case by case, by the Governor of the Bank of Mozambique.

Article 14
(Instruction of the request)

1. The request, addressed to the Governor, must be presented at the Bank of Mozambique and accompanied by the following elements:
   a) ...............................................................................................
   b) ...............................................................................................
   c) ...............................................................................................
   d) ...............................................................................................
   e) identification of the founding partners or shareholders, with specification of the capital subscribed by each, and must attach a declaration that the funds to be affected and mobilized are not of illicit or criminal origin and a declaration issued by the competent authority or, in its impossibility, a commitment of honor that none of the circumstances referred to in letters a) to d) of paragraph 4 of article 19 are verified, as well as, in the case of a natural person, a valid criminal record certificate;
   f) .................................

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