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The memorandum of understanding was inked by António Dinis Mendes, chief executive of African Bank of Oman, and Manuel Francisco Pedro, chairman of the board of directors for the zone. It sets up a framework for the bank to identify, structure and finance industrial and other investment projects inside the economic zone while supporting investors seeking to establish operations there. Cooperation areas include project finance, trade finance and financial advisory services along with information sharing and investment promotion. The two sides also plan to arrange business meetings, investment missions and capacity-building programmes designed to draw capital into the zone.
Mendes said the agreement came just hours after Angolan President João Lourenço and Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tarik highlighted the bank’s establishment as one of the tangible outcomes of growing bilateral relations between the countries. The signing occurred against the backdrop of a high-level state visit by the sultan to Angola in mid-September that yielded multiple economic pacts. Oman Observer reported that the agreements and memoranda signed during the visit hold a total value of more than $1.5 billion across sectors ranging from industry and mining to energy, agriculture and logistics. Discussions during the trip also explored ports, maritime transport, food security and fisheries.
African Bank of Oman formally launched operations in Luanda in April as a corporate and investment bank backed by Omani entities to strengthen financial ties with African markets. The institution focuses on facilitating cross-border payments between Angola and the Middle East in addition to offering corporate banking services and advisory for major projects. An AGBI assessment found that oil and gas account for about 20 percent of Angola’s gross domestic product while consumer goods contribute around 19 percent. In its first phase the bank aims to serve 50 multinational corporations, local enterprises and government entities before widening its regional reach.
The pact with the special economic zone builds directly on the momentum from the sultan’s visit, which both leaders framed as an advanced stage in expanding economic, investment and commercial partnership. President Lourenço cited the bank’s opening in Luanda this year and Omani companies’ entry into Angola’s mineral mining sector as examples of deepening cooperation. Sultan Haitham urged public and private institutions in both nations to pursue emerging investment opportunities and to substantially increase trade volumes that currently fall short of the relationship’s potential. The visit also produced a technical cooperation programme expected to bring measurable benefits to Angola’s population.
This latest step aligns with Angola’s strategy to diversify its economy through accelerated privatisation, infrastructure development and opening productive sectors to foreign capital. For Oman the bank supports objectives under Vision 2040 to diversify national income sources and expand the sultanate’s overseas investment footprint in emerging markets. The Oman Observer noted that ABO was conceived as a strategic platform to structure capital flows, trade and investment between Oman, Angola and wider African markets.
