Angola | Gov’t lowers projected economic growth in 2014 to 6 pct

The Angolan economy will grow by 6 percent in 2014, 2.8 percentage points less than the 8.8 percent forecast at the beginning of the year, Angolan vice-president Manuel Vicente said on Tuesday in Washington.
During the summit meeting between the United States and about 50 African leaders under way since Monday in Washington, Vicente stated that the growth rates result from “improvements in the fiscal context” in Angola, “single-digit inflation and a stable foreign exchange rate,” as well as the country’s guarantee of “comfortable reserve levels.”
This year “the Angolan economy will grow nearly 6 percent and it will maintain robust economic growth rates in the following years due to the government’s application of economic policy measures meant to control macroeconomic stability,” he added.
The IMF announced about two weeks ago a growth forecast for Angola’s gross domestic product in 2014, which should be under 4 percent, less than expected.
Lower tax revenue from oil, the country’s main revenue source, helps explain the downward revision of expected economic growth.
In the previous forecast released in April, the IMF revised growth of the Angolan economy down to 5.3 percent this year, compared to the government’s official projection of 8.8 percent, and to 5.5 percent in 2015.  MDT/Macauhub