"Today, around 20 percent of bank loans in Angola are in default. This number alone tells us how urgent it is to consolidate effective recovery and restructuring mechanisms," said the Secretary of State for the Budget, Juciene de Sousa, this Thursday.
According to the Secretary, if the current situation, "marked by persistent inflation and still modest growth", poses challenges to business activity, "then it is even more important [to have] an insolvency regime that allows companies with potential to be reorganised, saved and relaunched".
In statements made at the opening of the 1st International Conference on Business Recovery and Insolvency, Juciene de Sousa considered that a good insolvency system is not just a legal measure, but also a lever for economic policy, a shield for protecting employment and a sign of institutional maturity.
Juciene de Sousa highlighted the new legal framework for corporate recovery and insolvency in Angola, with the entry into force of a law approved in 2021, admitting, however, that the legal reform in this segment "is just a beginning".
"Having a functioning legal framework for insolvency — with fast, effective processes capable of meeting the expectations of those who resort to justice — is more than a legal ambition. It is an economic necessity", she pointed out.
The legal reality in the corporate recovery and insolvency component "is still recent", said the minister, considering that this requires consolidation, institutional adaptation and investment in technical capabilities.
"It is not enough to change the law — it is necessary to change practices, strengthen structures, train staff and, above all, build a legal and economic culture that recognizes the value of restructuring as a viable alternative to dissolution", she said.
She also stated that, with the legal framework for business recovery and insolvency, Angola has filled a historical gap and created a strategic instrument to serve the stability of credit, the protection of employment and the revitalization of the business sector.
She also argued that the legal instrument should be transformed into a true recovery mechanism — "and not just an instrument for orderly closure" — because, she pointed out, the objective is to "build an Angola where viable companies have a second chance".
An Angola "where workers are not the first to lose everything and where banks can recover credit without dragging the economy into stagnation", concluded the Secretary of State for the Budget of Angola.
The conference, which brings together Angolan speakers and others from Brazil and Portugal, is being held by RECREDIT – an Angolan company that recovers bad debt in the banking sector.
RECREDIT announced last May that it had recovered 31.19 billion kwanzas in bad debt in the 2024 financial year, which represents 109 percent of the established target, "exceeding operational expectations".
