LUANDA--Grayling has been charged with leading global PR for Angola's new $5bn sovereign wealth fund.
The firm secured the business, estimated at around $500K, following a competitive review earlier this year, revealed by the Holmes Report.
The Fundo Soberano de Angola (FSDEA) aims to ease the impact of commodity price volatility in Africa's second-biggest oil producer, after an IMF loan three years ago.
A statement from the FSDEA, distributed by Grayling, said that the fund would aim to invest in financial securities as well as infrastructure and specific industries likely to exhibit strong growth in Sub-Saharan Africa.
These include such areas as agriculture, water, power generation and transport. The fund will also seek to make investments that support the development of Angola’s infrastructure and help promote the country as a destination for foreign direct investment.
John Thompson, editor of Angola-Today, told the Holmes Report via email that a key challenge will be how FSDEA differentiates itself from existing investment funds, "such as those managed by state oil company Sonangol (the incumbent sovereign) and another oil fund targeted specifically at national housing and water projects."
Angola is one of many nations that have recently chosen to establish a sovereign wealth fund, including Nigeria, Mongolia, Italy, India, Panama and Israel.
Many well-established sovereign wealth funds, such as those from UAE, Singapore and Hong Kong, have public relations support in place, via global networks and local firms in key destinations.