IMF Team Completes Staff Visit to Angola
IMF News, November 15, 2017
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Bibliographic details
- Published: November 15, 2017
Mission summary
- Press Release No. 17/440; November 15, 2017.
- An IMF team led by Ricardo Velloso visited Luanda during November 6-15, 2017, to prepare the groundwork for the Article IV consultation mission expected in early 2018 and to hold preliminary discussions on the new government’s economic policy and reform plans.
- End-of-Mission press release note: The views expressed are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board.
Key economic findings and projections
- Output is projected to grow 1.1 percent.
- The external current account is projected to narrow to 5.2 percent of GDP as Angola’s terms-of-trade improved.
- Net international reserves were reduced to US$14.9 billion in October despite increased sales of foreign exchange by the National Bank of Angola.
- Inflation remains high.
- The spread between the parallel and official market exchange rate remains wide.
- A backlog of foreign exchange purchase requests in commercial banks still exists.
Policy assessment and recommendations
- Macroeconomic imbalances need to be tackled decisively.
- The new government has approved a six-month plan (Plano Intercalar) to guide policy actions until the National Development Plan 2018-2022 is unveiled.
- The mission judged the Plano Intercalar to be adequately focused on:
- stepping up fiscal consolidation efforts,
- introducing greater exchange rate flexibility,
- improving governance and the business climate to promote faster and inclusive growth as well as economic diversification.
Stakeholder engagement during the mission
- The mission held discussions with:
- Minister of State for Economic and Social Development Manuel Nunes Júnior,
- Finance Minister Archer Mangueira,
- Economy and Planning Minister Pedro da Fonseca,
- Commerce Minister Joffre Van-Dúnem Júnior,
- National Bank of Angola Governor José Massano,
- other senior officials of the executive branch,
- members of the Economic and Finance Committee of the National Assembly,
- representatives from the financial sector, the non-financial private sector, the state-owned oil company Sonangol, the sovereign wealth fund, and the diplomatic community.
Contacts
- IMF Communications Department, MEDIA RELATIONS.
- PRESS OFFICER: Raphael Anspach
- Phone: +1 202 623-7100
- Email: MEDIA@IMF.org
IMF Communications Department — End-of-Mission press release, November 15, 2017.