POLITICS
More than 40 Angolan opposition supporters were killed and six injured in a road crash as they returned from a party meeting, police said. The Unita opposition said the group was returning from a meeting in the community 380km southeast of the capital Luanda (News24).
Angolan soldiers could stay in Guinea-Bissau if the international community requested it through a United Nations resolution, minister for economic affairs Manuel Vicente said (News24).
ECONOMY
A staff team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by Mr. Mauro Mecagni, visited Luanda from May 2 to May 17, 2012 to conduct the 2012 Article IV Consultation and First Post-Program Monitoring Mission. During its stay, the mission met with Ministers and other senior government officials[1], and representatives of the banking, business, diplomatic, and academic communities. The mission also had the opportunity to visit the provinces of Kwanza Norte and Malange. At the end of the mission, Mr. Mecagni issued the following statement about the Angolan economy.
Angola’s Gross Domestic product (GDP) is expected to post growth this year of between 8 and 10 percent, the minister for Planning, Ana Dias Lourenço said, adding that it would exceed the 3.12 percent growth rate posted in 2011 by a wide margin (Macauhub).
Portugal and China are boosting their position as Angola’s main trading partners, as a time of growing economic activity in Angola and of public and trade surpluses, according to Portugal’s BPI bank (Macauhub).
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BUSINESS
Zon Multimedia SGPS SA, Portugal’s biggest cable-television provider, predicted that revenue from its Angolan unit will offset declining sales at home amid a weak economy. “We are already seeing this,” Chief Financial Officer Jose Pedro Pereira da Costa said in a phone interview. “Angola will predictably have better earnings and domestically we shouldn’t expect anything much different than last year.” Total revenue, which didn’t include Angola, dropped 2 percent in 2011 (Bloomberg).
The Argentinean government plans this year to open up a credit line of US$100 million to support development in Angola, particularly in the agricultural and industrial sectors, the Argentinean ambassador in Angola said (Macauhub).
The logo for the “Made in Angola” programme will be presented Friday in Luanda by the Angolan Economy Ministry, with the aim of developing an image and brand for Angolan products and services. The logo will be placed on packaging of consumer goods and on the external communications of companies that join the programme (Macauhub).
BANKING & FINANCE
A stern test and a golden opportunity, Angola’s new foreign exchange law for the oil sector will flood billions of dollars into the country’s banking system and pose tough questions about transparency and technical readiness. Riding on the coattails of an oil boom Angola’s banks have posted strong growth in the last decade, attracted foreign players and become the subject of takeover talk (Reuters).
Angola’s government has provided information on $27.2 billion of an accounting discrepancy in public funds linked to Sonangol but has yet to account for another $4.2 billion, the IMF said (Reuters).
OIL & GAS
Angolan crude oil differentials were expected to strengthen after the announcement of a smaller-than-expected loading programme for July, traders said. Angola will export around 1.56 million barrels per day (bpd)of crude oil in July in 51 cargoes, down from 1.69 million bpd in June and nearly 1.80 million bpd in April (Reuters).
Sembcorp Marine Ltd, the world’s second largest oil rig builder, said it has secured three contracts worth a total of S$130 million ($102.6 million). One of the contracts was awarded by Sonangol Pesquisa e Produção S.A. for the repair and upgrading of a vessel (Reuters).
The European Commission approved a proposal from Britain’s BP, U.S. oil major Chevron, Italy’s Eni and France’s Total and Angola’s Sonangol to take control of Angola LNG joint venture to develop liquefied natural gas projects (Reuters).
India’s largest refiner, Indian Oil Corp (IOC), has bought around 1 million barrels of Angolan Kissanje crude oil via tender from Sonangol, traders said (Reuters).
POWER
The first Angolan factory for solar power equipment – an investment of US$6 million – has been opened in Viana on the outskirts of Luanda, by Angolan business group Opala. According to the managing director of Green Power, Carlos Igrejas, the factory will have an initial workforce of 30 people and by the end of the year is expected to post turnover of US$11.5 million (Macauhub).
