Maputo, June 2, 2026 (Lusa) - The Cabo Delgado Judicial Court, in northern Mozambique, is set to auction off dozens of assets belonging to the former Plexus this month – once one of Mozambique’s leading cotton-growing companies – in the hope of raising over €7 million.
At issue is the insolvency proceedings of Plexus, previously owned by a British group, whose operations were halted in 2022, leaving thousands of cotton producers in Cabo Delgado unable to sell their produce, as well as facing substantial debts, according to the recovery plan published the following year, amounting to 515 million meticais (€6.9 million).
A notice published on Tuesday by the provincial court states that one of the tenders, comprising 10 building complexes, with a total value of 244,399,500 meticais (€3.3 million), will run until 15 June, the day the bids are opened, with these being put up for sale “for the second time via sealed bids at half the price of the first auction”, in reference to the attempted sale in August 2025.
In another notice, also published today and with the same date for the opening of bids, the court is putting 59 other items up for sale, ranging from vehicles to buildings, assets of the former Plexus, offered for a total value of 282,837,054 meticais (€3.8 million).
At the time of its closure, the British group cited the damage caused by successive cyclones affecting the region and the impact of armed violence in Cabo Delgado to justify its deteriorating financial performance since 2016 and the cessation of operations in 2022.
It is estimated that around 200 workers were left with unpaid wages and that 50,000 cotton producers in Cabo Delgado have, since 2022, been struggling to sell their raw material, which they had previously supplied to Plexus.
In 2023, an agreement was announced with the Portuguese company Felpinter to take over the management of the local cotton business, including two processing plants with a capacity of 45,000 tonnes per year.
In 2023, the Cabo Delgado Judicial Court revealed that, of the known debts, 95% had been incurred by Plexus with four banks: Moza Banco, BCI, Access Bank and Société Générale.
Moza was then owed 197 million meticais (€2.7 million), BCI 127 million (€1.7 million), Access 110 million (€1.5 million) and Société Générale 58 million (€813,000).
In addition to the banks, 3.4 million meticais (around €48,000) in unpaid wages were identified, with the remainder of the debt owed to the tax authorities and social security.
PVJ/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
