Angola

Oil-producing Angola hopes to get a credit rating next month and launch its first international bond sale by the end of June, sources said March 17. The bond issue is likely to be much smaller than the $4 billion issue previously expected now that oil prices and the Angolan economy have rebounded, a source said. The government had initially planned to start selling up to $4 billion in bonds in December but the sale was delayed to allow the African nation to obtain a credit rating and improve its chances of selling the bonds. Angola has seen its economy improve significantly this year on the back of a rebound in oil prices and is now likely to issue less debt than initially planned, said the source, who is familiar with the bond sale. Top rating agencies Moody’s Investors Service, Fitch Ratings and Standard and Poor’s have been in the capital, Luanda, in recent weeks to meet with government officials and assess the nation’s economy, a second source familiar with the talks said. The same source said Angola hoped it could get a credit rating higher than Nigeria, which has a B+ sovereign rating from Standard & Poor’s. (Reuters)