Spotlight | Angola
Privatisation bonanza for Lourenço's inner circle

Angola
Health minister Lutucuta's no-tender method

The cardiologist by training, who took over the ministry when Angolan President João Lourenço came to power in 2017, readily uses her influence in government to hand out major contracts to companies of her choosing.

Angola
Angola's Pedro Makita begins new life as MP

Pedro Makita, former governor of Cuanza-Nord provinces, is making his return to Angola's National Assembly as an MPLA lawmaker.

Angola
Gemcorp pins hopes on Cabinda refinery opening in November

UK investment fund Gemcorp, whose CEO is Atanas Bostandjiev, is hopeful that work on the construction of the Cabinda refinery will enable phase one (30,000bpd) to come on stream this November.

Angola
Spymaster's wife joins ANPG oil regulator board

João Lourenço has appointed the new board of the Angolan oil and gas regulator, and among the newcomers is the wife of the country's intelligence chief.

Angola
Lebanon's Dar Group wins two major contracts

Despite having no embassy in the country, Lebanon's diaspora is well established in Angola thanks to its long-standing ties with the latter's government.

Angola
Hilton secures site for first Angola hotel but still faces hurdles

After years of fruitless attempts, the US hotel group Hilton Hotels & Resorts has almost succeeded in penetrating the Angolan market, with the help of an associate of the former ruling dos Santos clan. But obstacles still lie ahead.

Angola
Angola's first blast furnace gathers steam

With the help of Brazilian specialists, Angola has found a first African buyer for its ground-breaking pig iron production. Discussions are underway with other countries.

Angola, Ivory Coast
Sonangol struggles to withdraw from Ivory Coast

The Angolan oil company wants to sell its 20% stake in Société Ivoirienne de Raffinage (SIR). The Ivorian state, SIR's majority shareholder, hopes to buy the shares but negotiations are complex. The matter is being handled directly by President Alassane Ouattara.

Angola
Mitrelli-Suez duo tackle Luanda's water shortage

The Angolan government is poised to greenlight the PROAGUA project led by Suez and Mitrelli subsidiary Owini, now a year behind schedule.

Angola, Zambia
Zambia eyes up Sonangol's future Lobito refinery

Zambian Energy Minister Peter Kapala and Bradford Machila, adviser to President Hakainde Hichilema, were on a trip to Angola mid-July to study the possibility of Lusaka's participation in Sonangol's refinery project at Lobito.

The New Guard
Burkina Faso, Morocco, Angola, Ethiopia

Every Wednesday, Africa Intelligence spotlights a new generation of movers and shakers in business and politics.

Burkina FasoJoseph Zagré, housing the middle class

MoroccoAhmed "Spins", the other Akhannouch junior

AngolaVera Daves de Sousa, Lourenço's financial ace

EthiopiaBethleem Tilahun Alemu, the entrepreneur keen to rival Nike

Angola
More MPLA associates do well out of privatisation programme

The list of winners in the 2019-2022 privatisation programme is growing. It includes honorary consuls, some foreign entrepreneurs and Angolan businessmen with ties to the president's office.

Angola
Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook al-Maktoum gives army veterans turned farmers a helping hand

Farming cooperatives run by former soldiers are poised to receive an initial consignment of tractors, which will be assembled in the country thanks to the Emirati investor.

Angola
Kapose family, well-connected under dos Santos, thrives under Lourenço

Some politically well-connected Angolan families who were favoured by the previous government have boosted their businesses under the current presidency of João Lourenço. Silvestre Tulumba Kapose's clan, which is involved in the automobile and banking sectors, is doing particularly well.

Angola
Builder Omatapalo rakes it in thanks to MPLA links

The Portuguese-Angolan construction group Omatapalo has won billions of euros worth of state contracts with the help of its connections within the ruling party.