Luanda is exploring Panda bonds and sukuk as it looks beyond its usual investor base. No decision has been made, and there is no guidance yet on timing or size. Angola also does not plan additional international bond sales this year.
Speaking to reporters at the IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok, Dos Santos outlined the options. "We want to be able to diversify the source of funding instead of relying each year in the same markets or same investors," he said. To broaden outreach, delegations visited Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman in the prior year, and Japan has already been accessed via a Samurai bond.
Angola sold $4 billion of eurobonds this year and used $1.2 billion for liability management, which lowered repayment pressure on 2028 and 2029 maturities. The country may stick with a blend of new cash and balance sheet cleanup when it returns to markets. As Dos Santos put it, "When we go back to the market, we probably will be doing the same thing: a little bit of cash for the Treasury, a little bit of liability management." That strategy has been in place since 2022.
Higher crude prices are helping. Angola has averaged $87 a barrel this year against a $61 budget assumption, leaving only $200 million to $400 million of financing to cover for the rest of 2026.
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Funding choices - including potential bilateral loans, a return to eurobonds, or alternative instruments - will be made after the 2027 budget is finalized. Angola is not in talks with Chinese lenders about lengthening maturities or reprofiling loans. It also has not discussed a new IMF program, though it continues to work with the lender on reforms and technical assistance.
Officials now put this year's growth at a minimum of 5.7%, up from 4.1%, with the lift coming from quicker non-oil expansion. The non-oil economy is growing 6.7%, up from an earlier 3% view, led by agriculture, industry and services. Dos Santos said growth next year could be close to this year's pace.
Fuel subsidies are being pared back gradually, with pump prices raised twice this year. Global oil's climb has made subsidies costlier even as export income improves. There is no set timeline for further changes, and any future increases will come with measures to protect vulnerable consumers.
The bottom line: stronger non-oil growth, lighter near-term maturities and modest remaining 2026 funding needs give Angola room to pick its spots. Keep an eye on the 2027 budget for signals on whether it leans toward bilateral loans, a eurobond revisit or a first step into Panda bonds or sukuk - and how that mix feeds into spreads across frontier credit in your portfolio.
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