Oil-rich Angola is taking in 2½ times the cash it did three years ago. Hotels in the capital, Luanda, are booked months in advance, largely by foreign oil companies. Sales of luxury cars are booming and the International Monetary Fund projects the economy will grow 24 per cent this year, one of the world's fastest rates.
The Government of Angola is eager to show that oil wealth is benefiting ordinary citizens. It has rebuilt 3800 kilometres of roads, refurbished four airports, and laid 690 kilometres of railroad tracks.
Angola's growing muscle means it is now the biggest oil supplier to China and the sixth biggest to the United States. This is leading it to rethink its global position. It recently joined the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and is limiting its cooperation with the IMF.China has become Angola's financier, lending Luanda as much as $US12 billion for the country's reconstruction, in return for guaranteed oil supplies.
The contest among importers to secure access to oil supplies has become fierce.
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