Petroleum Africa
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Monday, May 9, 2016
HOUSTON, TX, MAY 4th, 2016 – The U.S. Angola Chamber of Commerce (USACC) in partnership with the Houston – Luanda Sister City Association (HLSCA) organized a briefing “Angola: Reshaping the Investment Landscape” to promote Angola’s ongoing socioeconomic transformation through the reshaping of its investment landscape.
Present at the event were the Secretary of State for Petroleum, Anibal Silva; the President of Angolan Agency for Investment Promotion and Exports (AIPEX), Antonio Henriques da Silva; Vice President of the Comissao Administrativa da Cidade de Luanda, Mrs. Mara Quiosa; Sonangol Board members Reuben Costa and Ana Joaquim, Ambassador of the Republic Angola to the U.S., Agostinho Tavares da Silva Neto; the Consul General of Angola in Houston, Mrs. Julia Machado; and Chief of Protocol, Mayor’s Office of Trade and International Affairs, Deanea LeFlore.
Agostinho Tavares da Silva Neto, Ambassador of the Republic Angola to the U.S. provided welcoming remarks and stated, “Angola is currently restructuring its economic environment through legislative measures to strengthen, innovate, and shift towards diversifying the economy, to address the main concerns of the people of Angola.”
The drop in the price of crude oil to its lowest level in more than a decade has not only pushed Angola’s currency to record lows, it has plunged the economy of Africa’s second largest crude oil producer into a critical point since 2008.
“The sharp decline in the price of crude has significantly impacted government revenue, as a direct consequence of the decline, income generated from the sale of crude, as well as a reduction in the recover ability of costs by operating and service providing companies in the sector who have seen their profits decline. This backdrop results in a contraction of investments and a reduction in the number and volume of business for companies providing goods and services to the sector.” said Anibal Silva, the Secretary of State for Petroleum.
In October 2015, The Government of Angola created by decree the Agency for Investment Promotion and Exports (AIPEX) to substitute the National Agency for Private Investment (ANIP). AIPEX has the function to promote private investment abroad and its sectoral departments will have a greater role in the definition of private investment, analysis, removal of red tape, reducing time and improving the specialized treatment of ministerial departments.
Antonio Henriques da Silva, President of AIPEX said, “We were overwhelmed by the initiative, and delighted with the interaction with both the American and Angolan communities present at the event. We felt it is key in order to perform our job that we use events like this to get close to potential investors.”
The event also featured presentations by USACC members and partners on Alternative Financing in the Petroleum Sector; Maximizing Local Partnerships in the Petroleum Sector; and Luanda – Houston: Casting A Wider Net.
This is USACC’s last event under Ms. Jeannine B. Scott’s presidency. She was presented with a plaque by Ambassador Tavares thanking her for her 5 years of service promoting US-ANGOLA relations and investing in Angola.
The meeting was held at the Crown Plaza Reliant Center and sponsored by Chevron, Banco Atlantico, Operatec, PetroAfrica, Sonair, and Exworks Capital.
Angola was also represented on May 3rd, during the Business Forum organized by the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), co- hosted with the US Commercial Service and with support from the U.S.-Angola Chamber of Commerce. The Business Forum highlighted gas-to-power project opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa. The briefing provided valuable market intelligence delivered by high-level decision makers in Angola such as Francisco Lemos, Chairman of the Board of Sonangol; Manuela Ceitas, Adviser of the Chairman of Sonangol and Paulinho Jeronimo, Administrator of Sonangol.
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