Angola's 2018 budget predicts 4.9% growth

Angola’s government expects the country’s economy to grow 4.9 percent next year, according to a draft of the state budget presented to parliament on Friday.

The budget, which still needs to be approved by lawmakers, forecasts a fiscal deficit of 2.9 percent of GDP in 2018 with government revenue and expenditure of 9.6 trillion kwanzas ($58 billion), according to a report by the state news agency Angop on Friday.

“This is a budget built on very realistic foundations, we want the numbers presented to be perfectly attainable,” said Minister for Economic Development Manuel Nunes Júnior in comments posted on the Ministry of Finance’s website.

The 4.9 percent growth forecast is well above the 1.6 percent growth expected by the International Monetary Fund for Angola next year.