Luanda – The Angolan economist Manuel Alves da Rocha on Tuesday said in Luanda that the oil sector is the country's main source of income and foreign exchange earnings, far surpassing diamonds.
Manuel Alves da Rocha made this statement during the 1st Forum on “The future of the capital market in Angola, new investment and financing opportunities through BODIVA”, promoted by Lucrum Trust - Sociedade Corretora de Valores Mobiliários.
Official data indicate that the oil tax revenue collected by the State, in the first quarter of this year 2023, was around 1.3 billion kwanzas, which resulted resulted from the sale of 96.84 million barrels of oil at an average price of USD 79.31, based on data available on the Ministry of Finance website, through the Special Taxation Directorate (DTE) .
In relation to the first quarter of 2022, in which the State collected 2.1 billion kwanzas, 103.144 million barrels were exported, at an average price of USD 87 per barrel and by the quantities of crude oil exported.
“We do not have another activity corresponding to oil. Many think that diamonds generate foreign exchange earnings, as the weight of diamonds in the Gross Domestic Product is around four percent only. And that being so, there is a need for a paradigm shift, attracting foreign private investment,” he highlighted.
Speaking on the theme “Economic diversification and its investments”, Manuel Alves da Rocha underlined that Angola has to be in constant transformation, with attention turned to the social and economic agents involved in the process of the Angolan Debt and Values Exchange (BODIVA) .
“The foreign exchange market today is completely different from the one we had five, six or seven years ago, where the market was liberalized”, he compared before adding that nowadays “the capital market gives us a systematic devaluation of the national currency”.
For Manuel Alves da Rocha, the growth of the economy and its structural diversification are credible sources to give the national currency greater confidence.
On the occasion, the lecturer defended the commitment to other sources of income, as he understands that, for the economy to work, one must be aware of investing in other sectors, such as the energy transition.
On the other hand, the Executive Director of Lucrum Trust, Maria Moreira, explained that her company has a unique strategy that allows it to bring the best of the market to its clients, projecting investments oriented towards objectives that are more suited to their specific needs.
“(...) We provide specialized and necessary advice for making the best decisions”, she summarized.
The forum aims to fill in the lack of knowledge that exists about the securities market, in matters such as investment in the stock exchange and investment opportunity, mainly in the transition process. SL/MDS/AC/DOJ
