Africa-Press – Angola. The International Monetary Fund warned of worsening risks to Angola’s payment capacity and revised its growth forecast downwards from 2.4% to 2.1%.
The International Monetary Fund warned of worsening risks to Angola’s payment capacity, calling for control of spending and debt, and revised its growth forecast downwards from 2.4% to 2.1%.
In a statement published on its official website, which reports on the board of directors’ conclusions on the 2025 Post-Financing Review, the Bretton Woods institution emphasizes that “Angola’s payment capacity remains adequate,” but that risks have increased compared to last year.
The international financial organization emphasizes that Angola “faced a drop in oil revenues and a tightening of external financial conditions in the first half of 2025”, reflected in the deterioration of the fiscal position, with the total deficit projected to rise to 2.8% of GDP in 2025, compared to 1.0% in 2024.
The Fund also draws attention to short-term financing pressures due to the maturity of a significant amount of external debt and expects growth to slow in the short term.
In May, the preliminary growth projection for Angola in 2025 had already been revised from 3% to 2.4%, after bilateral consultation between the Fund and the Ministry of Finance, under Article IV (periodic review of the evolution of the economy and policies of a member country), but now the multilateral entity projects growth of 2.1%.
On the other hand, although Angola’s payment capacity is considered “adequate”, it is subject to increasing risks.
The IMF’s executive directors emphasize that vulnerabilities have intensified recently due to persistent challenges in oil production and price pressures, and urged the authorities to adopt “prudent macroeconomic policies and sustained reform efforts.”
They also emphasized that the risks to payment capacity increased compared to the previous year, due to the high external debt service, the greater volatility of oil prices, and the weaker outlook for fiscal and external balances, highlighting “the need to rationalize expenditures to preserve fiscal space and contain debt.”
They also emphasized the importance of moving forward with fuel subsidy reform, accompanied by measures to protect the most vulnerable and an effective communications strategy, and welcomed the progress made in mobilizing non-oil revenues.
The IMF warned against over-reliance on short-term, high-cost financing, stressing the importance of mobilizing donor resources for development spending, encouraging Angola to continue smoothing debt payments and manage its debt prudently.
In the statement, the institution also recommends avoiding premature easing of monetary policy in order to sustain disinflation and anchor inflation expectations, and encourages the National Bank of Angola to maintain strict oversight of systemic risks. “Strengthening the anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) framework and exiting the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list remain important priorities,” it adds.
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