LUANDA, Jan 11 (Reuters) &#8211; Moody’s assumes the Angolan government does not intend to default on its debt after ambiguous wording in official statements, the ratings agency said in a research report.
Angola this month unveiled plans to restructure its foreign debt and devalued the kwanza currency after the collapse in global oil prices from mid-2014 had battered its economy.
The exchange rate changes in Africa’s second-largest oil producer garnered most attention, with investors saying the kwanza needed to fall further before it reached fair value.
Moody’s said in a report sent to media on Thursday that the new kwanza regime and the government’s desire to renegotiate debt underscored existing pressures on Angola’s credit ratings, which include falling economic growth and liquidity risks.
It said it expected Angola’s debt-to-GDP ratio to rise and for higher inflation to weigh on growth, although it said the country’s current account was likely to improve over time.
The ratings agency said it had discussed the recent policy changes with the Angolan government.
Angolan President Joao Lourenço has embarked on a series of policy and personnel shifts since taking over from long-serving predecessor Jose Eduardo dos Santos in September.
Earlier this week, <a href="http://cnbc.africa/news/southern-africa/2018/01/11/angola-president-sacks-dos-santos-son-head-sovereign-wealth-fund/">Lourenço removed the son of dos Santos as head of Angola’s sovereign wealth fund</a>, in a move to wrest control of another key area of the state.
Meanwhile Fitch says: ANGOLA FX MOVE SIGNALS POLICY SHIFT, BUT “LACKS CLARITY”
* FITCH SAYS DECISIONS BY ANGOLAN AUTHORITIES, INCLUDING SHIFT TO MORE FLEXIBLE EXCHANGE RATE MECHANISM, SIGNAL POTENTIALLY MORE EFFECTIVE POLICY ADJUSTMENT 
Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by Dale Hudson

Fitch says Angola currency move signals policy shift, Moody’s doesn’t anticipate default

LUANDA, Jan 10 (Reuters) &#8211; Angolan President Joao Lourenço removed the son of his long-serving predecessor Jose Eduardo dos Santos as head of the country’s $5 billion sovereign wealth fund on Wednesday, the latest in a series of moves that sidelined dos Santos allies.
Lourenço, who took office in September when dos Santos stepped down after nearly four decades in power, has swiftly wrested control of key areas of the state by pushing aside powerful figures associated with his predecessor.
He announced on Wednesday that he was replacing the board of the fund, including its head Jose Filomeno dos Santos, after an external inquiry into the fund’s performance and governance.
READ: <a href="http://cnbc.africa/news/southern-africa/2017/11/15/angola-president-dismisses-sonangol-chair-isabel-dos-santos/">Angola president dismisses Sonangol chair Isabel dos Santos</a>
The new board chairman was named as Carlos Alberto Lopes, a former finance minister.
Last month Lourenço dismissed the former president’s daughter Isabel dos Santos as chairwoman of the state oil company Sonangol, replacing her with Carlos Saturnino, an oil industry veteran.
Lourenço has also appointed allies and former prime ministers Lopo Fortunato Ferreira do Nascimento and José Carlos Marcolino Moco as non-executive directors of Sonangol, further solidifying his power within the company.
Oil accounts for a third of Angola’s gross domestic product and more than 95 percent of its exports, according to the World Bank, making the leadership of Sonangol one of the most important and powerful jobs in the southwest African country. (Reporting by Herculano Coroado; Writing by Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by Peter Graff)

Angola president sacks Dos Santos son as head of sovereign wealth fund

LUANDA, Jan 8 (Reuters) &#8211; Angola’s President Joao Lourenco said on Monday he may change the leadership of the country’s $5 billion sovereign wealth fund, depending on the results of an external inquiry into its performance and governance due to be completed in coming days.
The fund is run by Jose Filomeno dos Santos, son of former President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who was succeeded by Lourenco last year. (Reporting by Herculano Coroado; Writing by Joe Brock)

Angola’s President mulls new leadership for $5bln sovereign wealth fund

LUANDA, Jan 8 (Reuters) &#8211; Angola’s President Joao Lourenco said on Monday that there could be no economic recovery without austerity measures, ruling out salary increases for civil servants for now.
“When the economy is a little better, it’s only right that it should move the national salary, but now it would not be very advisable,” Lourenco told reporters at a media event to mark 100 days in office. Lourenco took over last year from Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who stood down after 38 years. (Reporting by Herculano Coroado; Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by Peter Graff)

Angola’s President hints at austerity

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LUANDA, Jan 4 (Reuters) &#8211; It was Angola’s depleting foreign reserves that prompted the central bank to pursue a more flexible exchange rate strategy, the regulator said on Thursday.
The comment came a day after plans were unveiled to restructure foreign debt and allow looser trading of the kwanza.
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The changes will be implemented from this month.
Kaan Nazli, senior economist at investment management firm Neuberger Berman, estimated the new currency plan could result in the kwanza effectively devaluing by 30 percent.
“Of course they won’t call it like a devaluation &#8230; but ultimately it is not too far off what the (International Monetary Fund) has identified as the overvaluation of the exchange rate,” Nazli told Reuters.
Sub-Saharan Africa’s third largest economy also plans to renegotiate its external debt, which stands at $38 billion, Finance Minister Archer Mangueira said on Wednesday.
Angola’s dollar-denominated bond, which has $1.5 billion outstanding and matures in November 2025, fell 0.2 cents in price to 115.80 cents.
Most of Angola’s external debt is held by multinational lenders like the IMF or by foreign governments, including China, which has huge oil-for-infrastructure deals with the southern African nation.
Angola does not have a developed debt or stock market so a more flexible exchange rate is less significant for investors than in more developed markets. Lenders like the IMF have been calling for looser currency controls, however.
“Multilateral lenders will look favourably on the developments, so they might be more willing to restructure some of the debt,” said Cobus de Hart, analyst at NKC African Economics.
The central bank said in a statement on Thursday its decision to ease currency controls came after it had analysed the “macroeconomic fundamentals of the Angolan economy, and particularly the decreasing trend of international reserves”.
The regulator has been trying to defend the currency using foreign exchange reserves, but reserves have more than halved since 2013 to about $14 billion.
Oil accounts for around 90 percent of Angola’s government revenue and years of depressed crude prices have hammered once booming economic growth and eroded foreign currency reserves.
Angola, Africa’s second biggest oil exporter, has maintained a quasi-pegged exchange rate of about 166 kwanza per dollar, even though the dollar buys about 400 kwanza on a thriving black market.
Under the new system, forex trading will be carried out at trading auctions where a weighted average of offers from the central bank and commercial banks will set the exchange rate.
“In other words, the exchange rate is now determined by the transactions that take place in the primary market by auction,” the central bank said. (Reporting by Herculano Coroado; Additional reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng and Ed Stoddard in Johannesburg and Karin Strohecker in London; Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by Catherine Evans/Jeremy Gaunt)
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Angola’s central bank’s new currency plan could see kwanza devaluing by 30% – economist

Angola’s state oil company Sonangol said on Tuesday it had settled all disputes with Cobalt International Energy and would pay the U.S. oil firm $500 million for its stakes in two offshore oil blocks.
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Cobalt had filed arbitration requests in May seeking in excess of $2 billion due to the impact of failed extension talks on its attempts to sell offshore blocks 20 and 21 in Angola.
Sonangol said it would pay $150 million by Feb. 23 and a further $350 million by July 1.
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Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Gareth Jones
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Angola’s Sonangol says settled dispute with Cobalt International Energy

Angola’s President João Lourenço has told Angolans to repatriate funds illegally held abroad in coming months or risk prosecution, in a bid to spur domestic investment and combat corruption.
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The announcement marks one of Lourenço’s boldest policy moves since he took power in September and suggests he intends to try and draw a line under years of endemic corruption and impunity.
Central bank Governor José Massano told state news agency Angop that at least $30 billion of Angolan money is held abroad, though that figure includes legal deposits.
Lourenço has surprised analysts and diplomats by the speed at which he has sought to take on some of the entrenched vested interests that control sub-Saharan Africa’s third largest economy and second biggest oil exporter.
Speaking on Wednesday at the end of a ruling party conference on corruption, Lourenço said a grace period would be announced early next year during which money could be repatriated and invested in the Angolan economy without questions being asked.
During the grace period, citizens “will not be hassled, will not be questioned as to the reasons why this money was held abroad, will not be prosecuted,” Lourenço said.
But once that window, the dates of which have not yet been announced, passes: “the Angolan state will consider itself justified in regarding the money as belonging to Angola and Angolans and as such, together with the authorities of the countries where the money is held, act to bring it back into its possession.”
After nearly 30 years of civil war came to an end in 2002, Angola’s economy grew at a rapid pace thanks to an oil boom which drove GDP to multiply ten times by 2014.
But rife corruption and mismanagement meant gaping inequality persists, and a collapse in the price of oil lead to an economic crisis from which the country is still wrestling to emerge.
In November, he dismissed Isabel dos Santos, daughter of the former president José Eduardo dos Santos, as chair of state oil company Sonangol. He also cancelled lucrative state contracts with a media company owned by another of dos Santos’ daughters.
“The expectations of Angolans are high and they cannot continue to be defrauded,” Lourenço said.
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Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer, Editing by William Maclean
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Angola’s Lourenço offers ultimatum for repatriation of funds

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Isabel Dos Santos, Vice President of Banco De Fomento, Angola says while Africa doesn&#8217;t need a single currency, there definitely needs to be an integration between Central Banks across the continent.

Africa needs an integrated payment system – Isabel Dos Santos

On Oct. 6, with the dust still settling on Angola’s first change of power in 38 years, new President João Lourenço sat down with international oil majors at the presidential palace in Luanda.
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The top executives in Angola of Chevron (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview/CVX.N">CVX.N</a>), Total (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview/TOTF.PA">TOTF.PA</a>), BP (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview/BP.L">BP.L</a>), Eni (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview/ENI.MI">ENI.MI</a>) and Exxon (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview/XOM.N">XOM.N</a>) said the oil sector was being devastated by delays in project approvals at Sonangol and a backlog of payments owed by the state oil company, according to four oil industry sources with knowledge of the meeting.
They warned Lourenço that Angola’s production would decline from 2019 unless swift action was taken to tackle problems at the firm, which was headed by Isabel dos Santos, daughter of his presidential predecessor, the sources said. They declined to be named because the discussions were confidential.
Six weeks later the president fired dos Santos, Africa’s richest woman who is nicknamed the “princess” in Angola.
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The oil majors all declined to comment on the meeting. Lourenço’s office and Sonangol did not respond to requests for comment.
It was a highly unusual gathering; foreign oil firms operate nearly all of Angola’s production and hold huge sway, but meeting the president as a united group was almost unheard of.
The nature of the discussions has not been previously reported. The talks, and subsequent events leading up to dos Santos’ dismissal, shed light on the reasons behind her ouster &#8211; a decision never officially explained.
They offer new insight into the current state of the most important company in Angola, which relies on oil for a third of its economic output and over 95 percent of exports, and the big challenges facing the new management of the debt-laden firm.
The dismissal also points to the waning power of the dos Santos family, which has dominated Angolan politics and business for decades. Isabel dos Santos’ father José Eduardo had ruled the country since 1979, amassing wealth for his relatives who own companies in almost every part of the economy.
‘NEAR PARALYSIS’
Billionaire dos Santos, who had been Sonangol chair since June 2016, has said she was in the process of restructuring to root out waste and corruption at a company that was struggling even before oil prices plunged in mid-2014.
Her representatives declined to comment for this story, and instead pointed Reuters to two statements, issued in the days after her exit, when she outlined her achievements including reducing debt to $7 billion from $13 billion, raising annual revenue to $15.6 billion from $14.8 billion and cutting costs.
In her departing speech to staff, she said the company had been “nearly bankrupt” when she took over, devastated by the oil-price collapse. “Memories are short,” she added.
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However, according to interviews with 10 sources, including the four oil industry sources as well as officials from Sonangol and the government, Lourenço was frustrated with the slow pace of change at the company.
On Oct. 13, a week after meeting the oil majors and 17 days after taking office, the president ordered government ministers, Sonangol and international oil companies to form a 30-day working group to review the state of the industry.
The group’s meetings, many of them led by new Secretary of State for Oil Carlos Saturnino, were tense, the sources said. Saturnino, an oil industry veteran, had been fired by dos Santos from his role as head of production and exploration at Sonangol last year when she accused him of gross mismanagement.
Even though dos Santos had launched a turnaround plan, huge hold-ups in the approval of projects were strangling the oil sector, according to the sources. Her board had implemented a system for checking projects submitted by foreign oil companies which in practice exacerbated the problem, they said.
She had also created a gulf between her board and the rest of the company by surrounding herself with foreign consultants, said the people, who declined to be named due to the confidential nature of the industry review and related discussions.
The working group concluded there was “a near paralysis” at Sonangol, according to a government source.
<h3>CHINA DEBTS</h3>
As the group assessed the state of the industry, Lourenço met with Sonangol’s biggest lenders &#8211; including the Bank of China, Standard Bank and Standard Chartered &#8211; to understand Sonangol’s financial situation and secure lower lending rates, according to a source familiar with the talks.
“Lourenço realised Sonangol needs money fast,” said the source, adding that the company had been seeking to restructure some payments.
Standard Bank declined to comment, citing client confidentiality, while Standard Chartered and Bank of China did not respond to requests for comment.
Sonangol’s direct debt to Chinese banks and lending consortia including Chinese banks stood at $3.8 billion at the end of 2016, according to the company’s annual report.
Oil industry sources told Reuters this debt now stood at about $3 billion, plus another $3 billion to majors, contractors and traders. Of that, nearly $1 billion is owed to trading firms Trafigura and Vitol under loans guaranteed by oil or product exports, according to a source close to Sonangol.
The government itself also last year took out a further $6.9 billion loan from the China Development Bank that it lent to Sonangol, $3.8 billion of which the firm used to refinance debt, according to an International Monetary Fund report.
Supporters of dos Santos, who are familiar with her work at Sonangol, said the debts dated back to before her tenure. They said the company was now in better financial state. The slow pace of restructuring, they say, was due to the scale of the job and restraints imposed by the state on selling assets.
Her dismissal, according to them, was purely political and part of a campaign by the president against her family.
‘GOLDEN GOOSE’
With consensus in government building fast against dos Santos, she responded with a charm offensive.
In London, she met CEOs of major oil companies at an industry conference. On Oct. 18, she did a rare live interview at the Reuters office in the city’s Canary Wharf financial district.
In the Reuters interview, she described her relationship with the new president as one of “full alignment”. But she gave a hint that her days at Sonangol may be numbered, when asked if she would stay to see through the transformation of the firm.
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“Once the foundations have been laid and are right, it doesn’t matter who steps in as long as the plan is good,” said dos Santos, who has stakes in businesses from telecoms to diamonds.
The charm offensive was too little, too late.
On Nov. 15, dos Santos and most of her board were sacked. She was replaced by the man that had become her nemesis: Saturnino.
Foundations notwithstanding, the new management faces the tasks of getting projects moving again, repaying billions of dollars owed to oil majors, contractors and traders, and servicing billions more dollars of debt owed to Chinese banks.
An executive at Sonangol said a massive round of lay-offs had been delayed until after the election and the task would also now most likely fall to the new team.
Lourenço, however, appeared confident of Sonangol’s potential when he attended the board’s inauguration on Oct. 16, describing the company as a “golden goose”.
“Take good care of her,” he said.
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Writing by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Pravin Char
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How Angola ‘princess’ lost her oil crown

Chris Saunders |University of Cape Town
Soon after Zimbabwe’s army confined President Robert Mugabe to his palatial Harare home this week – allegedly for his safety – it was announced in Luanda that Angola’s new President, João Lourenço, had relieved Isabel dos Santos of her position as head of the state-run oil company Sonangol.
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While there may not be any direct connection between these two events, they suggest some intriguing comparisons. In both countries ruling families seem to have failed to secure themselves in power.
When Mugabe, as leader of the Zimbabwean African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF), became ruler of Zimbabwe at independence in April 1980, José Eduardo dos Santos was already President of Angola. He had succeeded to that position after the death of Agostinho Neto in September 1979.
Dos Santos had to deal with external intervention and over two decades of civil war , during which he ruled dictatorially. Mugabe, despite a facade of constitutionalism and regular elections, also became increasingly dictatorial. He abandoned adherence to the rule of law and his country’s economy collapsed. Angola became notorious for the scale of the corruption linked especially to its oil riches. Zimbabwe went from bread-basket to basket-case. With the great majority of the people of both countries living in dire poverty, Dos Santos flew to Europe when he needed medical attention, while Mugabe went to Singapore.
Though Dos Santos was probably as reluctant as Mugabe to give up power, he decided to quit as president of the country and try to retain influence through the ruling party and members of his family. Mugabe tried to impose his wife on his party as his chosen successor and then to cling on to his positions even when the army took effective control of his country.
Given recent developments in Luanda and Harare, it would seem that neither of these two old men have succeeded in securing their family dynasties.
<h2>Dos Santos’s succession plan</h2>
By 2016, suffering health problems that took him to Spain for treatment, Dos Santos announced that he would step down as president of Angola and he approved his Minister of Defence, João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço as his successor.
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Following the victory of the ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) in the general election held in August this year, Lourenço took over as president in September. But Dos Santos remained president of the MPLA, and clearly expected Lourenço to look after his interests and that of his family, who had become enormously wealthy.
From the action Lourenço has now taken against Dos Santos’ billionaire daughter Isabel, it would seem that he’s becoming his own man. It appears he wishes to distance himself from the Dos Santos family, which for many Angolans is associated with corruption on a vast scale.
The London-educated Isabel has proved herself to be a very capable businesswoman, and though the Angolan economy has been suffering because of low oil-prices, on top of massive corruption, it’s unlikely she was sacked to bring in a better chief executive to run the country’s most important state owned company. There is talk in Luanda that Isabel’s brother, José Filomeno dos Santos, will be relieved of his position as head of the country’s large Sovereign Wealth Fund and that his father, the former president of the country, will be replaced as president of the ruling party, though that may have to wait until a party congress is held.
<h2>Mugabe’s succession plan</h2>
In Zimbabwe Mugabe has sought to arrange that his wife will succeed him. But Gucci Grace and Robert made the mistake of trying to ensure this by firing Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Though at the time of writing, the 93-year-old Mugabe remains president both of the country and of the ruling Zanu-PF party, it’s widely expected that he will soon be relieved of both positions, probably by Mnangagwa, with the assistance of the army.
<h2>Changes for the better?</h2>
New leadership in Angola and Zimbabwe will have an impact on the region as a whole.
Given Mnangagwa’s record as a long serving member of government in Zimbabwe, and his involvement in the mass killing of Ndebele in the early 1980s, it is hardly likely that he will emerge as a champion of democracy.
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In Angola, Lourenço is still finding his feet as head of government. 
But if we are witnessing the end of an era in which dictators stayed in power for decades and tried to secure their continuing influence through their families, and if we are seeing the diminishing importance of liberation movements turned political party, this must be good not only for Angola and Zimbabwe but for the southern African region as a whole.It is therefore unrealistic to hope that either country will soon move from decades of repressive rule and lack of transparency to greater constitutionalism and closer adherence to the rule of law.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87689/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />It should also hold lessons for those who rule in neighbouring countries.
This article was originally published on The Conversation.

Mugabe and Dos Santos: Africa’s old men seem, finally, to be fading away

Gary van Staden | NKC African Economics
Angolan President Joao Lourenço on Wednesday, November 15, sacked Isabel dos Santos as head of the board at State-owned oil company Sonangol in a move that cements his power and influence over a key sector while at the same time addressing the concerns of international investors.
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While the removal of Ms Dos Santos has clear political connotations – she was one of the kingpins in the financial empire of her father, former President José Eduardo dos Santos, as well as a symbol of the former president’s influence – the action was also widely welcomed as a decisive move to improve efficiency and productivity at the crucial State-owned enterprise.
Ms Dos Santos was proving an ineffective leader and was accused of frustrating international oil companies with a series of unexplained project delays that damaged foreign investment sentiment and harmed domestic production.
In the wake of the recent Angolan elections, local media reported that international oil companies operating in Angola wrote to Mr Lourenço outlining grievances with the state of the oil industry – inefficiencies, bottlenecks and general inability to take decisions – all believed to be direct criticisms of the leadership qualities, or lack thereof, of Ms Dos Santos.
In addition, Mr Lourenço simultaneously sacked most of the Sonangol board and replaced them with new members generally more competent in the oil sector.
“Isabel dos Santos is out and now it is up to the new board to show results in a short timeframe, or they will also lose credibility,” a source at an international oil company in Angola told Reuters on Wednesday night.
In a twist of fate, Ms Dos Santos was replaced as chair by Carlos Saturnino, formerly the secretary of State for oil who was sacked by Ms Dos Santos.
It was a win-win situation for Mr Lourenço: he needed to improve the efficiency and productivity of Sonangol, the nation’s crown jewel and virtually sole provider of revenue, and he needed to demonstrate his political willingness and ability to dismantle the Dos Santos financial empire.
Mr Lourenço has indeed started to prove he is something of his own man given the general opinion beforehand that he was little more than a Dos Santos clone who would do his former master’s bidding.
But some caution is required. Moving against high profile individuals who are largely without their patron’s ability to protect them any longer is one issue – to take on a rigid, closed and paranoid political and security system is going to be a harder nut to crack and to date Mr Lourenço has left those structures largely untouched.
Cutting off the heads of unpopular relics of the Dos Santos era will earn kudos and some applause – tackling institutionalised repression and authoritarianism with an inherently undemocratic culture will be the real test of any promise to fundamentally reform Angola.
The people still wait for change, though now perhaps with a little more hope that real change is possible. Mr Lourenço dare not disappoint this hope.

Angola – Dos Santos’ removal from Sonangol a political and strategic move

The Angolan economy is set to grow 1.1 percent this year as sub-Saharan Africa’s third largest economy enjoys a mild recovery, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday following a 10-day visit to the country.
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But Ricardo Velloso, the Brazilian economist who led the visit, said macroeconomic imbalances remain that need to be tackled by the new government.
In a statement, he highlighted the wide spread between the parallel and official market exchange rates and a backlog of foreign exchange purchase requests in commercial banks as points of continuing concern.
Velloso said the team met members of the new government which it felt understood the challenges facing the economy, and gave a thumbs up to the administration’s six-month economic plan known as “Plano Intercalar.”
“The Plano Intercalar is adequately focused on the goals of stepping up fiscal consolidation efforts, introducing greater exchange rate flexibility, and improving governance and the business climate to promote faster and inclusive growth as well as economic diversification,” the statement said.
After nearly a decade of rapid growth, Angola slipped into recession last year as a fall in the price of oil led to a massive drop in government revenue and access to hard currency.
The official unemployment rate is at 25 percent, though likely in reality much higher, and a dollar fetches more than double the official rate on the black market.
President Joao Lourenco, who took office in September, has vowed to get the economy back on track promising to diversify away from oil and combat corruption.
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Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer, Editing by William Maclean
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Angola in “mild recovery” but macroeconomic challenges remain:IMF

Angolan President Joao Lourenco dismissed Isabel dos Santos as chair of the state oil company Sonangol on Wednesday in a dramatic move against the family of the former president.
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The daughter of Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled Angola for 38 years until stepping down in September, was replaced by Carlos Saturnino, the president’s office said in a statement.
Saturnino, an oil veteran who was fired by Isabel from Sonangol last year, was most recently Secretary of State for Oil.
A spokesperson for Isabel dos Santos did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lourenco also replaced six other board members, appointing Sebastião Pai Querido Gaspar Martins, Luís Ferreira do Nascimento José Maria, Carlos Eduardo Ferraz de Carvalho Pinto, Rosário Fernando Isaac, Baltazar Agostinho Gonçalves Miguel, Alice Marisa Leão Sopas Pinto da Cruz as executive directors.
José Gime and André Lelo were reappointed as non-executive directors.
Among those dismissed were Sarju Raikundalia, a senior PWC executive who was brought in to clean up Sonangol’s finances, and Eunice Carvalho, who previously worked for Chevron and was leading a restructuring at Angola’s biggest and most important company.
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Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Joe Brock
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Angola president dismisses Sonangol chair Isabel dos Santos

Angola’s Central Bank said on Thursday that it has signed agreements with the International Monetary Fund to be provided with technical assistance to strengthen its banking supervision, the prevention of money laundering and the illegal financing of militant groups.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-43288 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/imf-headquarters.jpg" alt="Low oil out impacts Angola’s economic growth" width="600" height="340" />
In a statement on its website, the central bank said the contracts would run for about two years and were aimed at restoring credibility in the Angolan banking sector and re-establishing relations with international financial institutions.
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Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by James Macharia
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Angola’s central bank in IMF agreement to prevent money laundering

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Moody&#8217;s Investors Service earlier downgraded the long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings of the Government of Angola to B2 from B1 and changed the outlook to stable from negative.

Moody’s downgrades Angola’s ratings to B2, outlook stable

Angola’s new president has ordered a 30-day review of the nation’s oil industry to address the “significant” challenges it faces, his first foray into the key business since he took office last month.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-287996 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Angola-President_Joao-Lourenco_Wikimedia.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1363" />
President Joao Lourenco directed a working group to determine how it can “improve the current conditions of investment in the oil and gas industry,” and develop a “framework of cooperation” directly between the executive and oil companies.
The move, announced in a decree on October 13, came as Lourenco appointed Carlos Saturnino, a former head of Sonangol P&amp;P, as secretary of state for oil. The president merged the ministries for oil and mining into one group, led by Diamantino Azevedo.
Sources told Reuters that Saturnino’s appointment signals a potential clash between the ministry and state oil company Sonangol, which is led by Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos. Earlier this week, dos Santos told a Reuters newsmaker event that Lourenco was in “full alignment” with her plans to transform Sonangol.
The working group will be led by the ministry of mining and petroleum resources and will include representatives of the Finance Ministry, Sonangol, the presidency and one representative from the Angolan divisions of oil majors BP, Chevron, ENI, Exxonmobil, Statoil and Total.
“Lourenco wants to impose his own approach to oil reform and, with the new commission, accelerate measures to improve ongoing tensions with oil majors, which do not appear to have been sufficiently addressed by Sonangol’s current management,” said HIS analyst Roderick Bruce.
Last week, Sonangol replaced its executive committee chairman, Paulino Jeronimo, who had managed new concessions and relationships with operators, in favour of new board members who dos Santos said could enable “the faster treatment of the challenges of the sector”.
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Reporting By Libby George, editing by Larry King
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Angola’s Lourenco orders review of oil sector, appoints oil head

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Hyatt Hotels announced they would be doubling their presence in Africa over the next three year, with new hotels in Angola, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Morocco, Senegal and Tanzania.

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