Angola – Page 140

US Exim Bank in Angola to promote US products

19 February 2016

A representative of the United States Export-Import Bank (ExIm) of the United States will meet with major banks operating in Angola and with government officials to provide information about its funding programs, the bank said in a statement. Cited by Angolan news agency Angop, the statement said that the Director of Global Business Development for Africa, Rick Angiuoni, would provide information concerning the financing mechanisms to support trade between the United States and other countries, including Angola.

Angola wants to stabilise the price of diamonds

18 February 2016

Angolan national diamond company Endiama plans to negotiate with the world's largest producers to reduce the quantity of diamonds they sell in order to make room for the expected increase in Angolan output, the chairman of the state company said in Luanda. Sumbula after announcing that Angola's production is expected to reach 8 million carats in five years, with the exploration of the Luachi kimberlite, said that this increase will force a negotiation with the other producers to circumvent the increased supply of the product and, consequently, a decrease in prices.

ENI group starts extracting more oil in Angola

18 February 2016

Italian oil group ENI has begun drilling for oil in Mpungi field in the deep waters of Angola about 350 kilometres northeast of Luanda, Angolan state company Sonangol said in a statement Tuesday. Mpungi is the third field in the Pólo Oeste project to go into production after the Sangos and Cinguvu fields and will contribute to increase production of Block 15/06, which will rise to 100,000 barrels of oil per day.

Economic situation in Angola lowers Portuguese exports

17 February 2016

Sales to Angola by Portuguese companies fell nearly 34 percent in 2015, or 1 billion euros, which meant that the Angolan market fell from fourth to sixth place in the ranking of biggest export destinations, Portuguese daily newspaper Público reported, citing data from the National Statistics Institute (INE). INE data showed that sales to Angola saw a contraction of 1.074 million euros (-33.8 percent) between 2014 and 2015, because of the crisis in the African country due to the low price of oil, on which it depends for its revenue.

Australian company discovers largest ever diamond in Angola

16 February 2016

Australia's Lucapa Diamond Company has discovered a 404-carat diamond (80.8 grams) in Angola, the largest ever found in the country and the 27th globally, the company said in a statement released Monday.

Angolan dairy company invests to increase production

16 February 2016

Angolan dairy company Lactiangol will invest 304 million kwanzas (US$1.9 million) in modernisation and expansion of its production capacity under a contract recently signed with the Technical Unit for Private Investment (UTIP). The contract, signed by the Director-General of the UTIP, Norberto Garcia, and the president of Lactiangol, José César Macedo, will allow the company to improve technological efficiency and logistics, to increase production capacity and the resources used to collect milk as well as carry out a refurbishment without stopping the production line.

Angola and Mozambique facilitate granting ordinary visas

16 February 2016

Angola and Mozambique agreed on the introduction of facilities to grant visas for ordinary passports of citizens of the two countries, in a document signed on Monday in Maputo. The Interior Minister of Mozambique, Jaime Basílio Monteiro, said the agreement was in line with one of the fundamental objectives of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to encourage the development of policies aimed at the progressive elimination of obstacles to the free movement between Member states.

Chinese company announces date for delivery of motorway in Angola

15 February 2016

The completion of the motorway linking the municipal headquarters of Nzeto to the city of Soyo, in Angola's northern Zaire province, is scheduled for June 2017, said the director-general of the Angolan subsidiary of Chinese state-owned Sinohydro Engineering Bureau No. 4 Co. Ltd. Liu Yawming, who was speaking during a visit by the provincial governor of Zaire, José Joanes André, to the works in progress, said the financial impasse that prevented the progress of the work had been overcome and that work should resume soon based no a guarantee of financing through a new credit line granted by China to Angola.

Standard & Poor’s lowers Angola’s sovereign credit rating

15 February 2016

Standard & Poor's has downgraded the sovereign credit rating of Angola from "B +" to "B" due to the fall in the price of oil, the country's main export product leading to an increase in debt, according to a statement released Friday. Maintaining a "stable" outlook, Standard & Poor's (S&P) said that in addition to oil prices being lower than expected in the 2016/2019 period, domestic and foreign loans that the government of Angola has taken on, along with the devaluation of the currency, mean that public debt is on an upward trajectory.

Angola adopts measures to minimise drop in oil prices

15 February 2016

The government of Angola will adopt a set of measures on taxation, monetary policy, foreign trade and the productive sector of the economy to respond to the crisis resulting from the sharp drop in oil prices, state newspaper Jornal de Angola reported. The newspaper noted that the price per barrel of oil currently stood at between US$27 and US$30 and because the State Budget for 2016 was prepared on the basis of a price per barrel of US$45 it is urgent to adopt measures to replace oil as the main source of revenues, control the expansion of the deficit and debt and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of private investment.

Angolan minister warns of cancellation of mining licenses

12 February 2016

The government of Angola is expected to withdraw licenses from operators who have mining concessions but do not have the capacity to develop the business, the Minister for Geology and Mining said Wednesday in Lubango, southern Huila province. Minister Francisco Queiroz said at the end of a meeting with mining operators in the southern region of Angola, which includes the provinces of Huila, Namibe, Cunene and Kuando Kubango, there was a need to correct the current situation in which almost 2,000 licenses have been granted but most have yet to start operating.

Angolan minister calls for export of ornamental rocks to help overcome crisis

11 February 2016

The minister of Geology and Mining of Angola Wednesday in Lubango called for a boost to the ornamental rocks processing sector as a way to overcome the current crisis caused by a fall in oil prices. Francisco Queiroz was speaking at the end of a meeting with mining operators in the south of the country, including the provinces of Huila, Namibe, Cunene and Kuando Kubango, under the government's approval of measures for overcoming the crisis, according to Angolan news agency Angop.

Angola issues US$2.1 billion in debt in 2016

11 February 2016

The government of Angola this year plans to issue over US$2.1 billion in Treasury bonds, US$423 million of which in foreign currency, to finance public works, according to two executive orders signed by the Minister of Finance. One order states that the issue of Treasury bonds in kwanzas amount to US$1.693 billion (264 791 800 000 kwanzas), to be placed under auction, to "finance public works planned in the state budget."

Angola exposed to more risk from austerity and uncoordinated reforms

11 February 2016

Applying "disorderly" budget cuts and structural reforms may bring more risks to Angola, beyond those associated with its excessive dependence on oil, according to the office of economic reports at Portuguese bank BPI. "The short-term outlook continues to present major challenges due to the adverse external climate, as international oil prices should not quickly recover to levels seen in the past," said the BPI analysts in a research note to African markets.

Difficulties in obtaining foreign currency limits dairy company Lactiangol in Angola

5 February 2016

The difficulty in obtaining foreign currency to purchase raw materials is affecting the production of both milk and other dairy products by Lacticínios de Angola (Lactiangol), said the company's president. José César Bastos Macedo also told Angolan news agency Angop that milk production had to be reduced from 5 million litres to 3.5 million and that of yoghurt, for example, fell by half, "which leaves the company in a difficult situation."

Angola issues debt to capitalise venture capital fund

5 February 2016

The government of Angola plans to issue Treasury bonds in the amount of 1.5 billion kwanzas (US$9.6 million) to capitalise the Angola Venture Capital Assets Fund (FACRA), according to an executive order of the Ministry of Finance. With registered capital of US$250 million, FACRA is the first venture capital fund created by the Angolan government under the Development Program for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, focused on supporting innovation and entrepreneurship.

Hydroelectric dam reopened in Angola

4 February 2016

The Lomaum hydroelectric dam in Cubal, in Angola's Benguela province, will be reopened Thursday, after being at a standstill for 31 years, Angolan news agency Angop reported. With a 50 megawatt production capacity, the hydroelectric plant built in 1959 in the province of Benguela will improve the power supply to over 92,000 of the National Electricity Distribution Company (ENDE) in the four coastal cities - Benguela, Lobito, Catumbela and Baía Farta.

Merger of Millennium Angola with BPA completed in April

3 February 2016

The merger of Angolan banks Banco Millennium Angola and Banco Privado Atlântico (BPA) is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter, possibly in April, said Monday the president of Portuguese bank Banco Comercial Português (BCP). Nuno Amado also said profit at Millennium Angola increased 50.1 percent last year to 75.7 million euros, about a third of the net profits recorded by BCP in 2015, amounting to 235.3 million euros.

National Bank of Angola raises key interest rates

2 February 2016

The National Bank of Angola decided to increase two key market interest rates, including the basic rate of interest, or BNA rate, which was increased by one percentage point to 12 percent, the central bank said in a statement Monday. The interest rate on the marginal lending facility was also increased by one percentage point to 14.00 percent and the seven-day liquidity absorption facility was kept at 1.75 percent, according to the decisions of the Monetary Policy Committee.

Angola negotiates new loan with World Bank

1 February 2016

The government of Angola is negotiating with the World Bank a new development programme loan programme (DPL), saidFriday in Luanda the Finance Ministry, at the end of the visit by a mission of the multilateral financial institution.

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