"The government remains committed to gradually eliminating fuel subsidies, although it does not intend to eliminate them completely in 2025, as this could create 'unnecessary difficulties' for the country's citizens," said the minister, in an interview with the financial information agency Bloomberg, in Davos, where the 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum is being held and in which Lima Massano participates representing the President of the Republic, João Lourenço.
Noting that the country's economy is expected to grow approximately four percent this year, compared to growth of "just over four percent" last year, as a result of the performance of non-oil sectors and the privatization program, the minister of State said they continue "looking for ways to eliminate bottlenecks in the economy" to enable companies to grow.
"We continue to look for ways to eliminate bottlenecks in the economy, so that companies can continue to grow. Therefore, we hope that 2025 will be another good year", he said in an interview with Bloomberg, quoted by the Government, in a statement that VerAngola had access to.
Privatizations were also mentioned by José de Lima Massano, who said that "in the coming months they will privatize the telecommunications company Unitel, and part of this operation is being done through the stock exchange."
In addition, the Executive will also "sell stakes in Banco de Fomento Angola, its second largest bank, and the local unit of Standard Bank Ltd."
"The three companies are among the largest of nearly 200 state-owned companies and assets that the government initially marked for sale in 2019, with a view to raising cash and diversifying the economy away from oil," the government statement said.
According to Lima Massano, more than half of these companies have already been privatized: "We decided to launch a massive privatization program for state-owned companies. It's happening."
Among other aspects, in the interview with Bloomberg, the minister also spoke about debt issuance, having mentioned that the Government intends to issue debt worth up to two billion dollars this year. "This year, we will go to the markets to issue Eurobonds," he said, adding: "It will be no different from what we have done before: 1 billion dollars, potentially up to 2 billion dollars".
Regarding his presence at the World Economic Forum, according to the government statement, Lima Massano has been developing "intense bilateral contact activities with policy makers, investors and business managers, among other entities, with the aim of exploring and promoting public-private partnerships. for the mobilization of resources for the economic development of Angola".
Thus, he held meetings with CEOs and representatives of several companies, with emphasis on Trafigura, Citigroup, De Beers, Standard Chartered Bank, Menzies Aviation, JP Morgan, Africa Finance Corporation, the Portuguese Minister of Economy, the former Prime Minister of United Kingdom, Tony Blair (current president of the Institute for Global Change), among others.
Also within the scope of the event, he also attended the Forum of Friends of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA), which took place under the theme "Transforming Digital Trade into a Catalyst for Growth in Africa", with the aim of "boosting the implementation of AFCFTA, through public-private partnerships".
"This Forum, which was attended by the former UK Prime Minister, provides a dynamic platform for a visionary dialogue on digital trade and the crucial role of the private sector in advancing the implementation of the AFCTA Digital Trade Protocol, adopted by the Heads of State and Government of the African Union in January 2024", the statement said.
In addition, Lima Massano also participated in a workshop on "Investment in Critical Minerals Value Chains", in which he "advocated the importance of sustainable and inclusive exploration of strategic mineral resources and public-private partnerships".
