Angola, Africa’s second-largest oil producer, has received $21.8 billion in investment offers over the last five years, with Chinese investors accounting for the majority of the activity.
Portuguese companies filed only 72 offers totaling $92.6 million, emphasizing China’s economic presence in Africa’s second-largest oil producer.
The increase in Chinese interest underscores Beijing’s overall objective of securing access to energy and mineral resources across the continent.
According to the Ecofin Agency, Angola has also passed a new private investment law to boost its investment framework by lowering minimum capital requirements, facilitating capital repatriation, and eliminating the 35% local ownership requirement for investors.
Angola’s large oil reserves and developing mining potential make it a crucial target for China, which is prioritizing long-term resource security in the face of global supply chain concerns.
Infrastructure investments, privatization plans, and mining concessions give Chinese corporations strategic access to high-value industries such as energy, transportation, and industrial minerals.
The competition for Africa’s resources is becoming more intense. Angola’s privatization of over 100 state-owned firms since 2019, combined with changes such as the Single Window for Investment and a new private investment law, has increased transparency, streamlined processes, and cut minimum capital requirements.
Projects like the 1,300-kilometer Lobito Corridor railway, which connects the Port of Lobito to the DRC border, demonstrate how strategic infrastructure improves access to resources and regional trade.
The United States and Russia are also looking for chances in Angola’s energy and mining industries, but China’s mix of state-backed financing, infrastructural knowledge, and readiness to make long-term concessions gives it an advantage.
African countries with large oil and mineral deposits are increasingly seen as strategic assets, critical to energy security, industrial development, and geopolitical power.
As Angola modernizes its investment environment and expands its mining and energy sectors, China’s domination in investment bids highlights the expanding significance of Asian capital in Africa, as well as the intensifying struggle for the continent’s natural resources.