Browsing by Subject "Angola"

Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    A review of factors affecting the attractiveness of Angola to private equity (PE) investments
    (2014) Jover, Estefania; Mlambo, Chipo
    Angola’s attractiveness to PE investors and the potential to increase PE investments in the country are explored. Primary data were collected using a survey of 18 PE funds that invest or have considered investing in Angola, followed by 10 expert interviews to gain deeper insight into the country’s institutional and economic environment, and its potential for PE investments. It is found that most PE funds are attracted to Angola by its rapid economic growth and high potential returns. The country is also vastly undersupplied, and many key economic sectors are fast developing, presenting exciting opportunities for investors. Nevertheless, PE in Angola remains limited, mainly owing to the difficulty of doing business in Angola, and owing particularly to the unfavourable regulatory environment. There is no regulation or process when it comes to the registration of PE funds in Angola, and any new regulation that applies to foreign investments is marred by unnecessary red tape, making it difficult for the investment to enter the market. Only two funds are authorised to operate in Angola: Fundo de Investimento Privado de Angola (FIPA), and BESA Activ. Streamlining regulation is critical to increasing PE flows to Angola in order to advance the country’s economic and social objectives.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Open Access
    Angola’s first competition regime: learning from experience, the importance of competition regulation in merger transactions: a reflection on the South African Competition Act and the lessons for the Angolan competition commission
    (2019) Belchior, Lisbella Patricia Guimarães; Nkomo, Marumo; Van Wyk, Magdaleen
    After being in a monopoly-controlled economy for decades, the Parliament of Angola finally recognised the necessity of institutionalising a Competition regime by enacting the Lei da Concorrência n.° 5/18, Angola's first Competition regime, which seeks to regulate Competition within the Angolan economy, and bring the country's economy in line with international best practices. In line with the Notice 2/2018 from the Angolan National Bank (BNA), commercial banks operating in Angola had until the end of the year 2018 to increase their share capital from 2.5 billion to 7.5 billion kwanzas ($35 million). This means that many banks that have a share capital below the new required minimum will have to consider alternatives, with mergers being one of them. The inclusion of this legislation in the Angolan legal system is significant as it comes at a time when the Angolan economy is expected to experience a number of corporate mergers, particularly in the banking sector. Since then, while there is still no sign of such corporate mergers taking place, the BNA has ordered the closure of two private banks, namely Banco Mais and Banco Postal on account of insufficient share capital, revoking the banking licences of the respective banks and declaring them bankrupt. In this paper, Angola's first Competition regime is examined by considering the merger evaluation process Competition authorities of Angola will now have to consider. Without losing sight of the reality that Angola is in a development phase, the paper relies on the relatively mature South African Competition regime as a significant point of reference to assess how the legislation will impact on corporate mergers in Angola. In the first chapter, the paper systematically discusses the development of Competition regimes in Canada, United States of America and South Africa. In chapter 2, the focus is placed on the merger evaluation process in Angola prior to the enactment of the Competition regime, before turning to the new merger process and examining some of the factors that have contributed to the development of the Competition Law in Angola. Emanating from this, chapter 3 continues with the discussion on the merger evaluation process, and provisions of the South African Competition Act, while contrasting it with the process the Angolan Competition authorities will have to follow. The chapter highlights the significance of public interest criteria in mergers, particularly in developing countries. Chapter 4 focuses on mergers, identifying specific challenges that horizontal and vertical mergers present to an economy, suggesting that, if not regulated effectively, horizontal mergers could lead to a situation where firms are ‘too big to fail', highlighting how firms often rely on mergers as a pretext to achieve a number of strategic objectives. The chapter discusses further key decisions taken by the South African Competition Tribunal and Commission as a point of reference. In addition, the chapter closes by evaluating the proposed changes to merger provisions contained in the South African Competition Amendment Bill. The paper ends in chapter 5 by concluding that notwithstanding the divergent legal systems and jurisdictions of Angola and South Africa, the latter's merger regulation process and approach is considerably advanced and better experienced than other developing states. Given that proper regulation contributes to effective economic growth, the Competition authorities of Angola stand to benefit from the experiences of South Africa, which offers some useful recommendations to the Angolan Competition authority.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Open Access
    Arms diplomacy, bicycle diplomacy, and flag money: the selection of an American Ally in Angola
    (2026) Jellema-Butler, Julia; Seegers, Annette
    Many civil wars are fuelled by the receipt, by one or more armed groups, of material support from a foreign third-party state. Such rebel patronage injects traces of international conflict and international cooperation into civil conflicts, and it often shapes their outcomes. But understanding rebel patronage strategies requires developing models to explain how state patrons select their foreign rebel clients, and such models remain at an early stage of theoretical development. Using process-tracing and original historical research, this dissertation tests theoretical hypotheses about rebel selection by examining American support to Angolan nationalist groups during the first phase of the Angolan Civil War in 1975. In particular, it seeks to explain the transformation in the relationship between the United States and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola; UNITA), which the White House declined to support in January 1975 but included in a multimillion- dollar support package in July 1975. The most decisive factors in this transformation, it emerges, were political. UNITA's rise in American esteem was closely related to the group's newfound closeness with American allies in Angola's neighbouring countries, who shaped the American patronage strategy. It was also influenced by the White House's increasingly ambitious political objectives in Angola. The Angolan case study thus provides support to an emerging body of literature that suggests that rebel selection decisions may be closely conditioned on the objectives of the intervention and on the expected policy positions of other third-party states.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    The collection and database of birds of Angola hosted a IICT (Instituto de Investigacao Cientifica Tropical) Lisboa Portugal
    (Pensoft Publishers, 2014) Monteiro, Miguel; Reino, Luís; Beja, Pedro; Mills, Michael Stuart Lyne; Bastos-Silveira, Cristiane; Ramos, Manuela; Rodrigues, Diana; Neves, Isabel Queirós; Consciência, Susana; Figueira, Rui
    The bird collection of the Instituto de Investigação Cientítica Tropical (Lisbon, Portugal) holds 5598 preserved specimens (skins), mainly from Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Principe, and Cape Verde. The subset collection from Angola includes 1560 specimens, which were taxonomically revised and georeferenced for the publication of this data paper. The collection contains a total of 522 taxa, including 161 species and 361 subspecies. Two species are classified by the IUCN Red List as Endangered - the wattled crane (Grus carunculata) and the Gabela bush-shrike (Laniarius amboimensis) - and two are classified as vulnerable - African penguin (Spheniscus demersus) and the white-headed vulture (Trigonoceps occipitalis). The temporal span of the database ranges between 1943 and 1979, but 32% are from years 1958–1959, and 25% from years 1968–1969. The spatial coverage of the collection is uneven, with 2/3 of the records representing only four of the eighteen provinces of the country, namely Huíla, Moxico, Namibe and Cuanza Sul. It adds, however, valuable information for the Huíla area of the Angolan Scarp, which is probably a biodiversity hotspot of global conservation priority. Furthermore, this georeferenced database adds invaluable bird information to the GBIF network, for one of the countries with highest but less known biodiversity in Africa.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Huernia humpatana (Apocynaceae) a new species from southern Angola
    (2010) Bruyns, Peter V
    A new species, Huernia humpatana Bruyns (Apocynaceae–Ceropegieae), closely related to H. similis N.E.Br., is described from the Chela Mountains of Huila Province in southern Angola. The two species are distinguished by the 5-angled and erect stems with more prominent tubercles up to 6 mm long joined into clear angles and separated by V-shaped grooves in H. humpatana as opposed to very obtusely 4-angled stems with tubercles only 2 mm long and only indistinct grooves between the angles in H. similis. Furthermore, in H. similis the nodding corolla is ± 9 mm in diameter with sepals ± 2 mm long, while in H. humpatana the horizontally facing corolla is 18–20 mm in diameter with sepals 4–6 mm long.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Open Access
    Investigating the capacity of the cities to manage urban flooding disasters: a case study of Sumbe, Angola
    (2025) Lemos de Lopes, Ngoia Cidalia; Sabela-Rikhotso, Phindile
    Disasters involving urban floods are a major concern worldwide, particularly in developing nations with limited capacity to manage disasters. Located on the coast of Angola and the capital of the Cuanza-Sul province in the central region of the country, Sumbe has been suffering from the negative impact of urban flooding, which has become more severe over the past five years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the capacity of the Sumbe municipality to manage urban flooding disasters, focusing on two distinct communities: Assaca and Centralidade da kibaúla. With the intent to assess the City's unique challenges, this case study used qualitative methods, involving 16 key stakeholders, 2 local officials and 7 community members from Assaca and Kibaúla. Findings revealed shortcomings in infrastructure, legal frameworks, early warning systems, preparedness, response, and recovery efforts in Sumbe. While both communities, Assaca and Centralidade da Kibaúla, face comparable challenges, there were some differences in socio-economic status influencing their capacity to respond effectively. This research provides insights in order to enhance disaster preparedness as well as mitigation endeavours in similar urban contexts.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    A review of factors affecting the attractiveness of Angola to private equity (PE) investments
    (AOSIS, 2014) Mlambo, Chipo; Estefania, Jover
    Angola's attractiveness to PE investors and the potential to increase PE investments in the country are explored. Primary data were collected using a survey of 18 PE funds that invest or have considered investing in Angola, followed by 10 expert interviews to gain deeper insight into the country's institutional and economic environment, and its potential for PE investments. It is found that most PE funds are attracted to Angola by its rapid economic growth and high potential returns. The country is also vastly under supplied, and many key economic sectors are fast developing, presenting exciting opportunities for investors. Nevertheless, PE in Angola remains limited, mainly owing to the difficulty of doing business in Angola, and owing particularly to the unfavourable regulatory environment. There is no regulation or process when it comes to the registration of PE funds in Angola, and any new regulation that applies to foreign investments is marred by unnecessary red tape, making it difficult for the investment to enter the market. Only two funds are authorised to operate in Angola: Fundo de Investimento Privado de Angola (FIPA), and BESA Activ. Streamlining regulation is critical to increasing PE flows to Angola in order to advance the country's economic and social objectives
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Restricted
    The rediscovery of Schizostephanus gossweileri and its phylogenetic position
    (2009) Bruyns, P V; Klak, C
    Two new records of Schizostephanus gossweileri (S. Moore) Liede from north-western Namibia and south-western Angola are documented and an amplified description is provided for the species. Analysis of ITS and trnL–F data provides additional evidence that this species belongs to Schizostephanus Hochst. ex K. Schum., where its relationship to S. alatus is strongly supported. The two species of Schizostephanus form a lineage that is either unsupported or weakly supported as sister to Cynanchum L. s.l.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Restricted
    The rediscovery of Schizostephanus gossweileri and its phylogenetic position
    (2009) Bruyns, P V; Klak, C
    Two new records of Schizostephanus gossweileri (S. Moore) Liede from north-western Namibia and south-western Angola are documented and an amplified description is provided for the species. Analysis of ITS and trnL–F data provides additional evidence that this species belongs to Schizostephanus Hochst. ex K. Schum., where its relationship to S. alatus is strongly supported. The two species of Schizostephanus form a lineage that is either unsupported or weakly supported as sister to Cynanchum L. s.l.