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Angola to Implement International Strategy, Patch Up Economy

Angola to Implement International Strategy, Patch Up Economy

Ranking at number 19 out of 176, Angola rests in a questionable position on Transparency International’s global index of corrupt countries. Still, the nation is looking forward to joining the ranks of states that can boast about an established economy, Independent Online (iOL) reported.

Following Nigeria, Angola is Africa’s second largest oil producer. In hopes to gain the interest of foreign investors, the country will soon be implementing new financial strategies to incite an economic boom.

According to iOL, after gaining financial confidence from the annual $70 billion that crude oil output has provided, president José Eduardo dos Santos is looking to merge into  international markets.

“Angola is definitely trying to develop an international strategy,” Alex Vines, an Angola expert at London-based think tank Chatham House, said in the report. “That, however, has an impact in terms of transparency, given the demands of international markets.”

Transparency and effective financial policy remains an issue in Angola, however, the country has been given stamps of approval from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank — both of which cited Angola’s progression.

According to iOl, governance issues and laws that leave the president’s powers unchecked have played a role in the financial sector’s shortcomings. Aside from dos Santos ruling the country since 1979 through the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola, upon receiving high praises from the World Bank, the president appointed his son as head of the sovereign wealth fund.

Although president Dos Santos has been scrutinized for the move, Jose Filomeno dos Santos’ future work with the $5 billion fund is said to be part of the country’s continued tactics of transparency.

“This is a problem for how we are seen, regardless of the president’s son’s abilities,” Luanda Catholic University economist Carlos Rosado de Carvalho, said in iOL.

“The approved policy, along with our commitment to accountability and transparency, will ensure that we make the best and most considered investments that support the country’s long-term economic future,” Filomeno dos Santos said in a Reuters report that announced his new position.

Angola will alter its financial approach by rebooting a Luanda bourse to open in 2016. The country will also invite foreign investors to trade via policies and rules that are less restrictive. President dos Santos also stands behind the creation of sovereign debt donds, iOL reported.