Angola is the latest oil-producing country seeking international help to cope with the fallout from low crude prices. As Reuters wrote, the country will begin loan negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a three-year Extended Fund Facility, the Finance Ministry and the IMF said.
According to the fund, the southern African nation is eligible for a little over $500m in assistance annually unless it receives special waivers. The move marks the second time in seven years that Angola, which produces some 1.6mb/d of oil –second largest on the African continent after Nigeria– has turned to the IMF for help. In 2009, the country secured a $1.4b emergency loan which it is still in the process of repaying, The Financial Times reported.
Angola is one of the first developing world producers to turn to the IMF for help as a result of the recent price drop, while many others prefer to deal with the World Bank and other lenders who set less demanding conditions for their help.
In November 2015, the IMF predicted that oil revenues for 2015 would fall below 15% of Nigeria’s gross domestic product, down from almost 40% of GDP in 2011, but that prediction came before the further fall in global oil prices seen earlier this year.
