ORSB – ANGOLA COUNTRY STRATEGY PAPER 2011 - 2015
infrastructure, (ii) lack of a coherent
PSD policy, (iii) shortage of skilled
workforce,
(iv)
red
tape
and
bureaucracy, and (v) land tenure issues
regarding ownership.
compared to the continent’s average,
and the banking system is well
capitalized.
2.3.8 The 2009 PSCP identified
rebalancing the country’s long-term
growth, addressing PSD bottlenecks
and alleviating poverty as strategic
objectives for ADB’s involvement.
The recommendations for policy reforms
pointed to the following areas:
• Improving access to finance in all
forms (large and small loans, equity,
micro-finance),
coupled
with
coaching and training or extension
services to be successful
• Alleviating infrastructure constraints,
in particular provision of electricity
• Stimulating vocational training and
skill enhancements
• Assisting the Government to improve
the regulatory environment.
2.3.10 The priority given to the
Angolan domestic economy has
delayed the regional integration
agenda. The country is a member of the
WTO, WCO, ECCAS and SADC.
However, the government postponed
the enforcing of SADC’s Free Trade
Zone mostly to protect temporarily the
domestic economy. Given its privileged
geographical location, Angola could
serve as an important transit country for
its landlocked neighbors and for other
producers in the SADC and the ECCAS.
However,
the
transport
corridors
envisaged by the two regional economic
communities (RECs) have not yet been
completed. Bilaterally, Angola has
trading agreements with all the major
economies.
Commercial
ties
are
particularly strong with members of the
Community of Portuguese Speaking
Countries (CPLP), neighboring countries
and countries with historical political
ties, in particular China. Angola is the
first African exporter to China, and its 4th
African importer. In the Doing Business
2010, Angola ranks at 171st out 183
countries in the Trading Across Borders
indicator.
Regional Integration and Trade
2.3.9 The Angolan banking sector is
dynamic but highly concentrated with
five
major
banks
collectively
accounting for 85.4 percent of
deposits and 83.9 percent of loans
Angola has a low banking market
penetration of only 8 percent of the total
population, and ranks 97th in 183
countries in the Getting Credit indicator
of the DB10. Loan-to-deposit ratios are
low at around 53 percent, reflecting a
small financial intermediation with a
private credit /GDP ratio of just at 22
percent13. Estimates vary, but it is
currently mentioned that not more than
2 to 3 percent of SMEs have access to
credit14. The origins of the problems are
multiple, although the difficulty of
providing collateral stands as the major
one. The NPL percentage of 5.34 is low
13
14
Environment and Climate Change
2.3.11 Civil war has contributed to the
country’s unsustainable utilization of
natural resources, weak regulatory
framework
and
weak
law
enforcement. The war also left 1/3 of
the national territory plagued by antipersonal mines. Only half of the 4000
minefields identified have been cleared.
Wild life and in particular game was
completely wiped out by the warring
KPMG Banking Survey 2009
From ADB’s Private Sector Country Profile 2009
11