Angola issues USD20 billion in debt in 2015

Roadside market in Angola

Angola plans this year to issue public debt of USD20 billion to private investors and pay interest of up to 7 percent, the director of the Public Debt Management Unit of the Ministry of Finance said Tuesday in Luanda.
Angélica Paquete, who presented the 2015 Annual Debt Plan, said this amount was needed to ensure the financing of the 2015 State Budget, distributed equally between domestic and international markets.
“In the 2015 fiscal year we have introduced the possibility of private or collective investors gaining access to the primary market,” said Paquete.
Private investors can take on Treasury Bills, with shorter maturities and interest rates ranging from 4.5 percent (91 days) and 6 percent (364 days) for a total amount to be allotted by the State equivalent to 402 billion kwanza (US$3.8 billion).
Private investors will also have access via the National Bank of Angola to Treasury Bonds with maturities of 2-5 years and a 7 percent interest rate, described by the Angolan government as one of the highest returns in the world on this type of financial product .
In this way the Angolan state expects to collect over 480 billion kwanza (US$4.6 billion) this year, despite the unfavorable economic and financial situation in the country, due to a fall in oil revenues.
Paquete also announced that this year the first debt issue will be carried out in the international market, with the support of financial partners in the sector.
Angola’s “stock” of public debt this year, according to the latest forecast from the Ministry of Finance, will reach US$48.3 billion, which corresponds to 35.5 percent of GDP between foreign debt (24.5 percent) and domestic debt (11 percent). MDT/Macauhub

National Bank liberalizes foreign currency operations

The National Bank of Angola (BNA) has authorized banks operating in the country to import, export and re-export foreign currency without prior permission, according to a notice from the central bank dated 29 January.
“The banks are authorized, as part of their corporate purpose, to import, export and re-export foreign currency and travellers cheques, without prior permission from the BNA,” reads the notice, which entered into force on 29 January and that the central bank justified by the “need to readjust regulations” on these operations.
The announcement of this move comes at a time when the national currency, the kwanza, is experiencing strong devaluation, with the US dollar registering large increases on the informal market. Increasing the ease with which banks can carry out dollar-based transactions is seen as a way of curbing the disparity between the US dollar and the kwanza.
The limitations introduced in January 2014 were intended to halt money laundering, via Angola.
According to the latest BNA figures, commercial banks purchased foreign currency worth US$2.092 billion last December.
Of this total, US$1.783 billion were sold by BNA, through auctions, to commercial banks, and US$309 million dollars were bought by their customers.