Angola will decide by November whether to extend its $1 billion deal with JPMorgan, a finance official has said, as the country expects to finalize a debt-for-development swap agreement with the World Bank before June, according to a senior debt management official speaking this week on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank annual meetings in Washington.
“We are working with the World Bank on a debt-for-development swap, which is something that will diminish the burden of our debt and also enable us to focus on specific areas like health and education,” said Ottoniel dos Santos, Angola’s Secretary of State for Finance and the Treasury, in an interview with Reuters.
He noted that discussions on the deal were advancing steadily. According to Reuters, the IMF’s sub-Saharan Africa regional outlook report, released earlier this week, emphasised that debt-for-development swaps could strengthen investment in areas such as social development, climate adaptation, and biodiversity.
The report also highlighted that while countries like Ivory Coast and Gabon have recently implemented such swaps, focused on education and nature preservation respectively, these arrangements remain relatively rare and generally total less than $1 billion annually worldwide.
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As part of its 2025 financing strategy, Angola, an oil-dependent economy, issued a $1.75 billion eurobond earlier this month.
According to the finance ministry, the government plans to raise $6 billion through various debt instruments to meet its total funding needs of $14.9 billion.
Luanda faces an $864 million bond repayment due in November and has also borrowed $1 billion through a total return swap with JPMorgan, which matures in December.
Dos Santos noted that the government is still considering whether to roll over this agreement.
“We are actually working with JPMorgan, but we have not decided yet,” he said, adding that Angola’s debt-to-GDP ratio has improved significantly, from over 100% in 2020 to around 55% today.
The government is also exploring alternative bond options such as Panda, Samurai, and Sukuk bonds, aimed at attracting investors from Asia and the Middle East who may not yet be familiar with Angola’s credit profile.
Dos Santos expressed optimism about the country’s growing financial maturity and credibility, stating that the government now has “enough expertise and confidence to be daring, to tell the Angola story.”
While maintaining close cooperation with the IMF, he clarified that Angola is not currently seeking financial assistance from the global lender.
“We are very comfortable with the relation and the support … but we don’t have anything on the table regarding a program,” he said.
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Image Credit: KT PRESS
