The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects Cape Verde’s growth rate to increase in 2015. “For 2015, a more marked acceleration of growth is anticipated, reflecting the continued recovery in Europe, a rebound in tourism, rising foreign direct investment and lower oil prices,” said Ulrich Jacoby, head of the IMF mission to Cape Verde, quoted in a press release.

The Chinese Government has set its economic growth target for the country at “around 7 percent” for 2015. This is the lowest proposed annual growth rate in more than 15 years.

China will donate office supplies to East Timor to support a training centre for diplomats, the Chinese Embassy in the country said in a statement.

The Chinese Government has revised the payment process for its export tax rebate system in a bid to spur exports, state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

Brazil’s commodity price index recorded a monthly increase of 4.97 percent in February. The index is compiled on a monthly basis by the country’s central bank.

Brazil recorded a trade deficit of US$2.8 billion in February, reported Brazilian news agency Agência Brasil, quoting official data.

The insurance sector in Angola has high growth potential because of the still low penetration rate of such products in the African country. The head of the country’s insurance regulator agency, Aguinaldo Jaime, made the assertion last week.

The third session of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) began yesterday, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China.

The Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency published a report last week on investment opportunities in China. It highlighted meats, aerospace engineering and soya beans as three potential areas of trade growth.

The governments of China and Mozambique signed two cooperation agreements last week to finance the construction of a US$50-million Mozambique-China Cultural Centre.

Angola’s market share of the oil imported by China slipped to 12 percent in January from 13 percent last year, reports Bloomberg, quoting data from China’s General Administration of Customs.

A China-backed expansion project of a general hospital in Luanda, Angola’s capital, was completed last week and taken over by the Angolan Government.