The announcement was made this Monday by the Minister of State for Economic Coordination, José de Lima Massano, who stated that the measures are primarily aimed at preserving jobs.
José de Lima Massano emphasized that the financing line aims to allow establishments to quickly recover their operations and pay salaries.
The minister said that approximately 162 establishments were targeted by these measures and "we do not want to move toward a wave of layoffs," allowing this support, in particular, to replenish inventory.
"The line lasts 12 months, and the grace period and principal interest are up to nine months. That is, for some of the acquisitions to be made under this credit line, particularly equipment, the managers of these commercial units will negotiate with the financial institutions that will operate this line within nine months to begin repayment," he emphasized.
In the case of using the credit to finance inventory replenishment, the grace period is six months.
The financing with an annual interest rate of 5 percent also allows for the processing of three consecutive salaries, the minister emphasized.
The Banco de Poupança e Crédito (BPC), a public financial institution, was chosen by the State to operate the credit line, and business owners must submit a statement of the complaint filed with the police to access it. In the case of salaries, payrolls from the previous months must be presented.
"BPC will have up to 20 days – we want it to be shorter – to respond and make the funds available," he said.
The support is targeted at formal sector establishments, so there will be no additional requirements, other than guarantees, he added.
"Also on the financial front, we are providing a 25 million dollars line for the import of equipment that the country does not have, which is necessary for commercial establishments to quickly begin operations," he added, indicating that goods that the country does not have are also covered.
Business owners will be able to access this line with their own resources or with financing from the 50 billion kwanzas line.
On the tax front, the government is also allowing faster recovery of the Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS) and allowing companies that continue processing salaries under these conditions, "while restoring full production capacity," to be exempt from social security contributions for three salary processing cycles.
"Therefore, the 8 percent contribution made by the employer will be covered by the National Social Security Institute so as not to condition these workers' right to their pensions in the future," he emphasized.
According to José de Lima Massano, some companies have risk insurance against the acts recorded last week, but they will be able to access the credit lines, returning these funds to the state once they are compensated.
"We must all understand that the 50 billion we are making available to support companies that suffered damage from vandalism are resources we are taking from other government programs, from other needs the government has, within the scope of the execution of the General State Budget," he said.
José de Lima Massano emphasized that the objective was essentially to protect jobs, which is the "great concern."
"Part of the social problems we are experiencing is precisely related to this need to create more jobs in the formal sector of the economy, and we must do everything we can to ensure this process continues," he said, adding that in 2024, nearly 300,000 jobs were created in the formal sector of the economy, which is "clearly insufficient."
In the same year, the informal sector created approximately 700,000 jobs, but the government's goal is to continue "offering greater dignity to citizens, particularly the youngest, with employment opportunities," he emphasized.
The meeting, which served to discuss the measures adopted by the executive branch, was also attended by members of the Association of Modern Commerce and Distribution Companies of Angola (Ecodima) and distribution sector operators.
In the interaction with the operators, it became clear, according to the minister, that there will be no major difficulties with the global supply of goods, as distribution centers and large warehouses have not been subject to vandalism that could compromise distribution and price stability.
