By Kerim Karakaya and Jorgelina do Rosario Angola is considering selling bonds in China or tapping Islamic debt markets in the Middle East as the oil-producing nation seeks to diversify its sources of financing, according to a senior finance official.

The government is weighing so-called Panda bonds and sukuk among potential funding options, Ottoniel dos Santos, the Southern African country’s secretary of state for finance and the Treasury, said in an interview on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Bangkok. No final decision has been made, and Angola doesn’t plan further international bond sales this year, he said.

“We want to be able to diversify the source of funding instead of relying each year in the same markets or same investors,” Dos Santos said.

Angolan officials visited Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman last year as part of efforts to attract new investors, he said. The country has already diversified its funding sources by tapping the Japanese market through a Samurai bond sale.

Angola raised $4 billion in eurobond sales this year, allowing it to conduct $1.2 billion in liability-management operations, according to Dos Santos. The transactions helped ease repayment pressures on debt maturing in 2028 and 2029.

Higher oil prices have also reduced the government’s borrowing requirement. Angola has received an average of $87 a barrel for its crude this year, compared with the $61 assumed in its budget, leaving just $200 million to $400 million in financing needs for the remainder of 2026, he said.

The government will decide whether to seek bilateral loans, return to eurobond markets or explore alternative financing instruments once its 2027 budget is finalized. No decision has been made on the timing or size of any potential Panda bond or sukuk issuance.

Angola may also combine future international bond sales with further debt buybacks or exchanges, continuing a strategy it has pursued since 2022.

“When we go back to the market, we probably will be doing the same thing: a little bit of cash for the Treasury, a little bit of liability management,” Dos Santos said.

The official said Angola isn’t negotiating with Chinese creditors to extend maturities or re-profile existing loans. The government also hasn’t discussed a new financing program with the IMF, although it continues to work closely with the lender on economic reforms and technical assistance.

Angola raised its economic growth forecast for this year to at least 5.7% from 4.1%, supported by stronger expansion in non-oil industries, Dos Santos said.

The non-oil economy is growing at a pace of 6.7%, compared with an earlier projection of 3%, driven by agriculture, industry and services. Growth next year could remain near this year’s level, he said.

Angola is also gradually reducing fuel subsidies, with authorities raising pump prices twice this year, Dos Santos said. Higher global oil prices have increased the cost of subsidies even as they boost the country’s export revenue. Is there no time frame for further adjustments, he said, adding that future increases would be accompanied by measures to protect vulnerable consumers.