Luanda - The Angolan Government's efforts to increase domestic production should help alleviate persistent inflationary pressures in Angola, strengthen the kwanza (Angolan currency) and stimulate economic growth, the Minister of State for Economic Coordination, José de Lima Massano, assured.
In an interview with the Bloomberg agency, published on Wednesday (17), he stated that the Government is building infrastructure to connect the countryside to the main cities, providing lines of credit for farmers to increase production and has, within the scope of Planagrão, around two million hectares of land for large investors in agricultural production.
The Minister of State reiterated the work being done to diversify Angola's economy, investing in the food chain.
“The oil sector will continue to play a very important role in our economy, but what we really want is to grow the non-oil sector”, José de Lima Massano highlighted, noting that the economy is expected to grow 3.2% this year, compared to 0.9% in 2023.
In the interview, Massano said, on the other hand, that the Government remains committed to the gradual elimination of fuel subsidies, acting with a sense of prudence. He added that, at this moment, “there is still no timetable to complete this process”.
He reiterated that Angola is carrying out a massive privatization program, in an attempt to attract investment and reduce the role of the state in the economy.
In this regard, he recalled that the sale of shares in the state insurance company ENSA, Seguros de Angola, is underway, while the sale of the stake in Standard Bank Angola should take place by November of this year.
The Minister of State for Economic Coordination clarified the purpose of the Angolan State selling 108 companies of the almost 200 planned for privatization, but it continues to make sense for Sonangol to maintain its stakes in BCP and Galp.
José de Lima Massano said that the Government is also planning an initial public offering of Unitel and the sale of a stake in Banco de Fomento Angola next year.
Without going into details about the size of the sales of State assets, he reiterated the Government's commitment to eventually take Sonangol to some degree of privatization.
“Sonangol is a large and strategic company and is carrying out a regeneration program. Once this program is completed, it will then be able to take other steps on this front as well”, he clarified.
He highlighted that the privatization plan aims to build a competitive and dynamic market economy.
Angola experienced, in the first quarter of 2024, the highest economic growth of the last 9 years, reaching 4.6% of GDP.
In recent years, the Angolan economy has demonstrated “remarkable resilience”, overcoming adversities imposed by the national and international context, having recently received praise from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
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