Luanda – Angolan head of state João Lourenço Wednesday invited international investors to examine the business opportunities in Angola and the "great competitive advantages" that the country offers.
João Lourenço was speaking via videoconference at the Investment Forum in Angola organised under the annual British initiative known as “Africa Debate”, with the involvement of the Institute for Global Change, led by the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair .
He added that, in order to create a better business environment, Angola passed laws on private investment and the promotion of competition in the market, as well as liberalising the exchange rate and taking action against corruption and impunity.
The head of state stressed that "these measures are essentially aimed at transforming the Angolan economy, attracting private investment to help reduce inequality, create jobs for the population and rapid growth".
João Lourenço said that these measures also aim to reduce dependence on oil and attract foreign investment, having invited investors to examine the wide range of business opportunities in the sectors of agriculture and livestock, industry, fisheries, transport, construction, tourism and other branches of the Angolan economy.
He recalled that since 2017 Angola has started a process of implementing reforms, to promote investment and increase competitiveness.
"We started a privatisation process of companies and assets, with emphasis on sectors that offer great competitive advantages for the private investor", underlined João Lourenço, who encouraged "the investor community to be proactive in taking advantage of this window of opportunities".
João Lourenço stated that Angola today is a safe place to invest, adding that the country offers a "stable and favorable business environment, with a young, hard-working, entrepreneurial spirit and eager to embrace the challenges of a growing market. ".
In addition to these aspects, the Angolan statesman highlighted the geographical location, which gives the country a strategic position, as a platform for access to the markets of Southern and Central Africa.
According to him, Angola can only grow again from an economic point of view, "if we increase investment, to provide Angolans, particularly youth, with better incomes and, in this way, increase the well-being of their families ".
According to João Lourenço, Angola relies on international investors to speed up the reforms underway in the business sector and to boost the market towards an economy centered on the private sector.
Angola was chosen as the featured country in the 2020 edition of “Africa Debate”, in recognition of the remarkable reforms it has been implementing in the field of the business environment, combat corruption and diversifying the economy, an engagement that arouses the growing interest of the community International.
Thursday (5th), and within the same initiative, President João Lourenço is attending a panel with the former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, to speak in detail about his Government's efforts in terms of economic and social development and the reasons that should lead the business world to look to Angola as a destination of choice for investment.
