Africa-Press – Angola. About 80 large, medium and small North American companies operate in the Angolan market, which confirms the positive balance of the work developed, over five years, by the American Chamber of Commerce in Angola (AmCham-Angola).
These statements were made to the press by the president of AmCham-Angola, Pedro Godinho, in the act of commemoration of the fifth anniversary of the organization, held on Thursday, in Luanda, underlining that, throughout this period, the confidence of North-American companies in the Angolan market has increased, allowing the absorption of investments outside the oil sector, to the point of allowing a strategic partnership between the two countries to be envisaged.
“Our great dedication and hope is that, one day, Angola can be a strategic partner of the United States from a commercial and economic point of view and that is where we have been focusing on our activities”, he said.
The first five years, according to Pedro Godinho, were more focused on advocacy, or on guiding and defending the interests of US companies in the Angolan market, “so that they feel welcome” and channel investments to Angola that include the transfer of knowledge and technology, reflected in the opening of lines of financing and the involvement of investment funds.
The president of AmChm-Angola pointed out that the main difficulty faced by US companies lies in “understanding in which sectors this mobilization could be carried out”, which is why the Chamber elected the sectors of Energy and Infrastructure, Agriculture , Digital Economy, Tourism and Culture, as well as Banking and Financial Services, the latter due to the importance of correspondent banks.
Among the best-implemented companies, John Dear stands out, specialized in the supply of equipment, supported by a team that allows the evaluation, as a promoter, of the needs in terms of tools and equipment, while having a financial structure that finances the producers.
“They have developed this experience in Africa with excellent results, so that, if Angola has a developed agricultural sector, the result will be the achievement of food self-sufficiency, since we were ‘breathed’ by fertile lands, a tropical climate favorable situation, among other comparative advantages”, highlighted Pedro Godinho.
Scientific Domain
The president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Angola, Pedro Godinho, announced a project that aims to establish a partnership between Angolan and North American universities, to help improve the quality of higher education in Angola and strengthen the training of national staff.
Pedro Godinho informed that the project took shape when the Business Forum between the United States and Angola was held in New York four years ago, when businesspeople from that country learned about the economic reforms that the Executive is implementing, adding that, after that time, “we managed to win the hearts of American businessmen and institutions”.
The official praised the fact that the US President, Joe Biden, had announced, at the end of June, that his Government had approved 2.0 billion dollars to support Angola, within the framework of a support program for countries in development, in particular for the African continent. “If we take into account that, of the 54 African countries, only Angola was focused, it means that the United States believes in the partnership with our country”, he said.
“This gesture by President Joe Biden announcing the interest of the United States in Angola, to the leaders of six of the greatest powers, represents an invitation for them to also embark on the same path, as the G7 group is working on a fund of 600 billion dollars destined to help poor countries, especially on the African continent”, maintained Pedro Godinho.
Revenue Collection
The Secretary of State for Finance and Treasury, Ottoniel dos Santos, considered, on the occasion, that the actions carried out by the Executive to improve the business environment are essential for North American companies and companies from other regions to be able to decide to make investments in our country.
Speaking to journalists, Ottoniel dos Santos assured that the Ministry of Finance, together with all the bodies with which it works, is determined to permanently implement measures that contribute to the improvement of this environment and attract investors.
The realization of this objective, in the perspective of the Secretary of State, involves the improvement of tax revenues, in order to reduce the need for the State to enter the market, thus allowing the private sector to evolve and participate in the development of the economy.
“We recently had the Tax Benefits Code approved, which is a very important factor in attracting private investment and has been mobilizing investments from other regions and also facilitating that important projects can be implemented, as well as the capture of good financing, similar to the one that allowed the materialization of photovoltaic energy projects”, he said.
Ottoniel do Santos added that the United States has projects focused on Africa and “we try to make our simple contribution in order to guarantee that everything is, in fact, a reality. These are small contributions, but of great impact on the Executive’s global strategy , which could serve as a basis for more and more companies from the United States of America, with the help of AmCham, to come to operate in Angola”.
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