Luanda – The Business and Connectivity Forum, in the province of Huambo, with the participation of national and foreign businesspeople and investors was the highlight of the economic news during the week that ends today.
At the opening of the event promoted by Media Nova Group, the vice-governor for the Political, Social and Economic sector of Huambo, Angelino Elavoco, said it was necessary to explore the potential of local tourism, with a view to expanding the economic income and ensure the employability of young people.
The official also reflected that, in addition to tourism, the region has better arable land, “rare earths”, diamonds, gold, a financial sector that is increasingly consolidating, a qualified workforce, a market that represents close to of three million consumers, which constitute a sea of opportunities for those who, in fact, have a vision of how to do business.
Angelino Elavoco highlighted that gender events always provide a space for sharing to obtain new contacts, expand business areas, create synergy with potential collaborators or suppliers and facilitate convergence between different economic agents.
In turn, the general coordinator of Media Nova Group, Pedro Bernardo Neto, began by highlighting the importance of the event, which joins official efforts to find solutions, which aim to lead Africa and Angola, in particular, to food autonomy.
He highlighted that the war between Russia and Ukraine worsened food shortages in Africa by around 30 million tons, mainly with regard to grains such as corn, soybeans and wheat that were imported from those countries.
At the two-day event, under the motto “Agriculture, the basis of food sustainability”, the Agrarian Development Support Fund (FADA) says that 393 commercial and family farming projects are being financed in the province of Huambo, with a global value of over 2 billion kwanzas (US$ 2.372.480).
The Executive administrator for FADA's Business area, Renato Baptista, said that the support was aimed at individual producers, cooperatives and associations, micro and small companies, legally constituted, of which 80% of the total financing has already been disbursed to the local community boxes.
The official added that the province of Huambo is the second largest in the country to benefit from FADA financing, after Luanda, with 800 projects, worth over 4 billion Kwanzas (US$ 4.744.960).
Still at the event in Huambo, the president of the Board of Directors of the Soyadubo factory, Sousa Jerónimo, indicated that the Government and businesspeople should devise concerted strategies for the creation of fertilizer industries in the country, with a view to developing family farming.
The businessman said that more studies are needed to achieve this goal, as bringing industries in this sector to the country will be beneficial for all segments of the national production chain.
Another topic of utmost importance this week is the information that gross credit to the non-financial sector amounted to 6.22 billion kwanzas (US$ 7.378.413), having registered an increase of around (29.68%), in Last February, compared to the same period last year.
In a Statistical Information note on Credit made available by the Angola Central Bank (BNA), 87.60% of the credit represented the debt of the private sector (private companies and individuals) and 12.40% the debt of the public sector (public administration and public companies).
It was also mentioned during the week that the collection of direct revenue for the National Treasury, from the Gaming activity, in the 2023 financial year, amounted to more than 10 billion kwanzas (US$ 11.862.400).
The data was released by the Gaming Supervision Institute (ISJ), highlighting that, in order to collect Kz 10,680,789,150.58 the deepening of the ongoing reform process contributed to "this remarkable performance".
The ISJ also points out the continued adoption of online games, the expansion of territorial-based social games to more provinces of the country, associated with the increase in supervision and inspection actions.
It was also highlighted that the General Tax Administration (AGT) is benefiting from the “Tech-Gest” technology, a service that uses updated images from the Angolan Satellite (Angosat-2), to collect Property Tax (IP), through the link https://ip.minfin.gov.ao/ip.
This week, the Economic Desk also highlighted the recognition of the deputy director general of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Antoinette M. Sayeh, about Angola's success in implementing the economic reforms underway in the country.
The senior IMF manager, who made these considerations at the end of a two-day visit to Angola, said that these gains are reflected in the areas of fiscal management, revenue mobilization, financial stability and independence of the Central Bank.
"These reforms are helping to reduce Angola's debt vulnerabilities, improve the business climate and allow growth to resume", he said.
It was also highlighted during the week that the Economic Commission of the Council of Ministers forecast a growth in the Gross Domestic Product for the real sector of the economy in the order of 3.01% for this year, against the 2.84% foreseen in the State General Budget (OGE) 2024.
According to the press release issued from the 1st ordinary meeting of this body, chaired by the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, the non-oil sector will grow 5.31%, against the 4.62% of the 2023 OGE, while for the oil sector, including gas, a contraction of 3.22% is expected, slightly above the forecast (2.47%).
The Executive Macroeconomic Programming for the year 2024 also indicates that the fiscal sector will present a surplus fiscal balance of 1.82% of GDP, contrary to the initial perspective of a fiscal balance of 0.02% of GDP in the 2024 OGE.
Last week, the statements made by the Secretary of State for Finance and Treasury, Ottoniel dos Santos, were highlighted, stating that 12.28 billion kwanzas (US$ 14.567.027) is the missing amount for the total sale of State companies and shares, included in the Privatization Program (PROPRIV).
Speaking to the press, at the end of the 2nd Meeting of the PROPRIV National Interministerial Commission, the director highlighted that investor debt represents 2% of the total value, which includes 23 contracts, out of a universe of 155 signed.
Ottoniel dos Santos recalled that, in the first phase of PROPRIV implementation, in 2019, 103 assets were privatized, with a contractual value of 1.03 billion kwanzas, while in the program's extension period, in 2023, around 11 assets were deprived.
It was also reported that companies operating in Angola, with emphasis on oil and mining companies, began to count, as of Wednesday, on financial support from the Venture Capital Investment Company (Petrofund), which has available 250 million US dollars for this purpose.
This is the first private investment fund for the Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas sector, with a view to strengthening the financial capacity of national and foreign companies, as well as ensuring the sustainability of local content, according to the president of the Board of Directors of Petrofund, Vicente Inácio.
Speaking to the press, regarding the launch of this fund, the manager highlighted that the respective investment will be made progressively, with the acquisition of up to 30% of the companies' shares, which will be managed by Petrofund over a period that varies between five (5) and seven (7) years.
The Minister of Planning, Victor Guilherme, indicated that the creation of Petrofund marks the birth of a new business segment and signals the development and strengthening of the Angolan private sector, with emphasis on local content.
Also highlighted this week were the statements made by the Minister of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication, Mário Oliveira, who points to the holding of the International Forum on Technologies in Angola (ANGOTIC-2024) as a factor in supporting national economic diversification.
When speaking at the launch of the 4th edition of ANGOTIC-2024, taking place from the 13th to the 15th of June this year, in Luanda, the government official said that, with the promotion of this event, the sector intends to be the locomotive of the country's socioeconomic development and all Angolans' well-being.
On the occasion, the minister said that the forum will allow sharing experiences and knowledge that enhance the creation of a favorable and attractive environment for private investment, as well as promoting public-private partnerships, with a view to providing services that make citizens' lives easier and of business. AC/CF/DOJ
