Luanda — The business environment in Angola has seen significant improvements in recent years, although it is still subject to a series of challenges of a cyclical, institutional and structural nature, the representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Angola, Victor Lledo, said Monday in Luanda Province.
Speaking to ANGOP on the subject of "The business environment in Angola," the IMF official based in Luanda emphasised that these challenges limit private investment and hinder the country's desired economic diversification.
Among the difficulties that Angola still faces, Victor Lledo pointed to the situation marked by periods of volatility and economic instability, poor external competitiveness and low skills and human capital.
However, the official recognised that the country offers several opportunities for researchers, such as new and growing markets in various areas, agricultural potential, a surplus of electricity, a young population and a strategic geographical position.
He therefore advocated improving access to private credit by developing a credit registry to facilitate guarantees and boost mobile banking.
Victor Lledo also considered it essential to promote investment in infrastructure and human capital in a complementary and sustainable way by the public and private sectors, levelling the competitive field, and continuing to reduce bureaucratic and licensing procedures, with an effort to digitise the process.
He also called for the strengthening of good governance practices and the fight against corruption, through greater transparency in the management of finances and public procurement, as well as strengthening the capacity and speed of the judicial system in dealing with corruption cases.
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According to the IMF representative, a business environment is influenced by conjunctural, institutional and structural factors, which together determine the ability of companies to develop their activities and optimise their objectives with the minimum of external constraints.
At the time, he highlighted as positive factors for a good business environment economic stability and access to credit, the existence of a predictable institutional and regulatory framework that, among other things, protects investors' property with low conflict resolution costs, and an economic structure that offers quality public inputs in the form of infrastructure, skilled labour, as well as access to regional and international markets.
Angola and the International Monetary Fund signed an Extended Fund Facility agreement for the period 2018-2021, which allowed the country to borrow around USD 4.4 billion, with the aim of improving macroeconomic stability, promoting sustainable economic growth and reducing poverty.
