Angola To Help Portugal Out

The Fastest Growing African Economy to help out its former Colonial Power Portugal

Angola is prepared to help its former colonial power Portugal cope with its financial crisis, the oil-rich nation's President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos said.

After meeting visiting Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, he said solutions needed to be found.They should be "advantageous for both countries" and "in a spirit of solidarity and mutual help", he said.Analysts say Portugal's economy is expected to contract by 2.8% next year and Angola's to grow by 12%.'Trump cards'The IMF has agreed to give Portugal a $107bn bailout on condition that it introduces a wide range of economic reforms - including privatisation.Analysts say Angola could buy stakes in some of the privatised companies.Angola's investments in Portugal have risen sharply in recent years.The figure in 2009 stood at $156m (£99m), compared to $2.1m in 2002, according to the Portuguese Institute of International Relations and Security (IPRIS), a Lisbon-based think-tank.Angolan companies own the equivalent of 3.8% of companies listed on Portugal's stock exchange, from banks to telecoms and energy. [Read More]