The 14.7 billion dollars represents the drop in the balance of foreign investment in the African country during this period, which fell from 81.5 billion to 66.8 billion dollars, according to the Economic Report for the 1st Semester of 2024 consulted by Lusa .
The document reads that Foreign Direct Investment in Angola, from 2017 to the second quarter of 2024, showed a “deplorable progression”, with a record of 57 percent less, from 29.4 billion dollars to 12.6 billion of dollars.
The report, prepared by the Center for Economic Research (Cinvetec) of the Lusíada University of Angola, also highlights the drop in the value of external loans, which is considered “positive in the long term, but has important consequences for the State treasury, exchange rate and inflation”.
In the first six months of 2024, foreign investment in Angola fell 2.4 percent, falling from 67.9 billion to 66.8 billion, he points out.
The researchers justify that the drop in foreign investment between January and June 2024 was mainly due to the loan item (minus 1.8 billion dollars), offset by Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) with an additional 0.5 billion dollars and additional credits (plus 0.2 billion).
This reduction in external loans, “due to the inability to contract new debt under favorable conditions, continues to be the main factor behind the lack of foreign currency [in the country]”, they maintain, remembering that oil FDI was positive (295 million dollars).
Non-oil FDI “was only 178 million dollars, which, despite the growth rates, is irrelevant to the country's economic growth. Even worse, it goes from 133 million in the first quarter to 45 million dollars in the second quarter”, says the report.
The biannual analysis points out, on the other hand, that Angolan investment abroad, excluding the reserves of the National Bank of Angola (BNA), increased from 32.8 billion to 34 billion dollars, an increase of 1.2 billion dollars.
“More significant” movements were recorded in the increase in commercial credit flows, with the devaluation of 0.6 billion dollars in currency and deposits and the appreciation of 0.2 billion dollars in portfolio investments, argues Cinvetec.
Regarding the business environment, the report points to the need to transform the country's wealth into capital, increase the number of businesses, effective freedom of trade, levels of trust, combat corruption and promote public security as segments that should stimulate and attract investments.
