COUNTRY PROFILES
Reasons to invest in Angola
by H. E. Elizabeth Simbrão
H. E. Elizabeth Simbrão is the Ambassador of Angola in the Kingdom of Belgium, in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Diplomatic Mission at the European Union.
Angola is a potentially rich country, characterised by abundant reserves of natural resources such as oil, natural gas, diamonds and other minerals, a vast hydrographic network, vast expanses of arable land and a tropical climate that is very favourable for agriculture, livestock, fishing, hunting and rural tourism.
After achieving independence, in 1975, Angola was ravaged by a civil war that lasted nearly 30 years, resulting in the massive destruction of its basic infrastructures, with deep negative consequences for its economic and social development. Upon the end of the war, in 2002, the country regained peace and stability. It took on the great challenge of national reconstruction, which entailed rebuilding its physical infrastructures, completely destroyed by the war, and developing integrated social projects of paramount importance, in order to restore the social and human fabric that was irreparably damaged as a result of the armed conflict. Therefore, the country’ s current political and economic stability is a key factor for attracting direct investment in the various sectors, with a view to increasing internal production and contributing to diversifying its economy.
Despite the current difficult environment, brought about by the economic and financial crisis affecting countries and markets all around the world, Angola’ s prospects for growth and development are rather encouraging. The country’ s Gross Domestic Product( GDP) is at USD 130.03 billion( 2004) and its economic growth rate is one of the highest in the entire African continent. However, even with the drop in crude oil prices in the international market, Angola’ s GDP continues to grow at a more or less stable rate of 6.8 %( 2013), 3.9 %( 2014) and 3.0 %( 2015- estimated).
Angola is the second largest producer of crude oil in Sub-Saharan Africa( after Nigeria), with current production figures pointing to nearly 2 million barrels per day. Crude oil exports are the country’ s main source of revenue, accounting for 97.35 % of annual exports and making up about 46.8 % of GDP( 2014). The drop in oil prices, and the consequent decrease in revenue, is posing great challenges for the internal market, which calls for the necessary and inevitable readjustment of governmental projects and programmes across the board. However, such challenges can be turned into opportunities for innovation and for the redirecting of the available resources, which can go towards investment projects that contribute to increasing non-oil GDP, thereby progressively reducing the country’ s dependence on one single export.
Investment opportunities The process of national reconstruction and diversification of the economy opens a wide range of business opportunities across the various sectors. Private investors have access to all sectors of the Angolan economy, including construction and infrastructure development, with the exception of sectors classified as‘ sensitive’, namely national security and defence, which are under the exclusive responsibility of the State.
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