Oil-PLUANDA: Africa's second oil producer Angola on Wednesday launched a $5 billion sovereign wealth fund to invest some of its vast oil earnings, following in the footsteps of oil-rich Arab nations.

 

The Angola Sovereign Fund, known by its Portuguese acronym FSDEA, will channel investments into the infrastructure and hospitality sectors, both at home and abroad, the fund's board said in a statement.

 

The fund was first mooted four years ago and parliament last year enacted a law for its creation.

 

"Projected to grow from sales of oil and through the performance of its investments, the FSDEA's strategy is to create attractive long term risk-adjusted returns by investing in a wide range of asset classes - both in Angola and internationally," it said.

 

It will also invest in financial securities at home.

 

Angola, an OPEC member, is second only to Nigeria in oil production on the continent, with around 1.6 million barrels per day.

 

The oil is helping power its post-war economic boom but the gains have mostly benefited the country's elite, while most Angolans still live in grinding poverty.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2012

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