Key facts
- Angola relies on crude oil for about 90% of its export revenues, according to the report.
- Fitch said oil accounts for close to 60% of Angola's fiscal revenues and 95% of exports.
- Fitch expects Angola's oil production to remain broadly stable at around 1 million barrels per day over the next year.
- Citi's Grant Carson said deals in banking, tourism and agriculture had been seen in recent months.
Angola has accelerated efforts to diversify its economy away from oil dependence, using this year's windfall oil revenues to fund reforms and investment in transport corridors, minerals, banking and tourism, according to Citigroup. Grant Carson, a Citi executive who oversees several African markets including Angola, told Bloomberg in an interview published on Thursday that the country's political and economic stability was making it more attractive for foreign direct investment and infrastructure projects.
Carson spoke to Bloomberg on the sidelines of the African Financial Industry Summit in Luanda. He said deals in banking, tourism and agriculture had been seen in recent months as the diversification drive gained momentum. Angola relies on crude oil for about 90% of its export revenues, according to the report.
The country is also relying on expanded transport links such as the U.S.-backed Lobito Corridor, a railway network intended to link minerals-producing regions in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia with Angola's Port of Lobito on the Atlantic Ocean. State oil firm Sonangol is seeking stakes and a footprint in domestic critical minerals development.
Fitch Ratings said last week, as it affirmed Angola's Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings at 'B-' with a Stable Outlook, that the country remained vulnerable to global oil prices. Angola's oil production is set to remain broadly stable at around 1 million barrels per day over the next year, with new and incremental projects expected to offset natural decline, the agency said. Fitch noted that oil accounts for close to 60% of fiscal revenues and 95% of exports, leaving fiscal and external financing conditions highly exposed to oil sector developments and prices.