Angola’s state-owned oil company, Sonangol, said that it is negotiating a $4.8 billion loan with Chinese banks to help fund a new refinery in the Atlantic port of Lobito. This would be the first time the country borrows from China since 2017.
CEO Sebastião Gaspar Martins told reporters that the company is talking with Chinese financial institutions to secure funding for a project phase estimated at $6.2 billion, with support from a Chinese contractor.
A Sonangol team will go to Beijing in April for meetings.
The financing terms do not use oil as collateral, which differs from the company’s past practices.
Angola reduced its exposure to resource-backed loans from China in 2017 after experiencing volatile commodity prices.
Chinese lending to Africa reached its highest point in 2019 but dropped sharply during the pandemic, leaving projects such as a railway in Kenya unfinished.
China still says it supports investment and trade in Africa. Angola’s oil-backed debt to China fell by nearly a quarter last year to $7.73 billion.
The Angolan government calls the Lobito refinery a “strategic” project, with refined petroleum production planned to start by December 2027.
source: www.africanews.com
African Energy Council