According to the 2023 Annual Economic Report, prepared by the Economic Research Center of the Lusíada University of Angola (CINVESTEC), the drop in foreign investment from 71.7 billion dollars to 67.9 billion dollars was due to three factors: reductions in direct investment items (minus 2 billion dollars), loans (minus 2.4 billion dollars) and commercial credits (plus 0.9 billion dollars).
"This reduction of 2.4 billion dollars, due to the inability to contract new debt under favorable conditions, was the main factor in the lack of currency", says the text, consulted by Lusa.
According to CINVESTEC, Angolan investment in this period, excluding the reserves of the National Bank of Angola (BNA), went from 34.9 billion dollars to 32.3 billion dollars, a drop of 7.4 percent.
The report indicates that total exports in this period decreased by 26 percent in accumulated terms, from 50.1 billion dollars to 37 billion dollars and oil exports also fell by 27 percent, falling from 47.5 billion dollars to 34.7 billion dollars.
On the other hand, the research indicates that Angola is observing oscillating action in the fight against grand corruption, a phenomenon whose past impacts persist in the present and with harmful effects on the country's business environment.
According to CINVESTEC's 2023 Annual Economic Report, "oscillating action in the fight against grand corruption has been observed in the country, with periods of greater activity followed by long periods in which the visibility of the action diminishes".
"It is understandable that justice acts in this way, but it is necessary to combine judicial and police action in order to create the perception that corruption does not pay, something that has not happened so far", reads the report made public on Friday and consulted by Lusa.
The "significant preference" in the use of direct award in public procurement can increase the risk of corruption "due to the subjectivity caused by human influence", highlights the study, highlighting that the perception is that "petty corruption has not decreased".
