Angola state fund keen on Hong Kong capital markets

Angola's sovereign wealth fund, Fundo Soberano de Angola, is looking to invest in Hong Kong's capital market and seeking Chinese partners to co-invest in Africa, said fund chairman Jose Filomeno dos Santos.

"We are considering co-investing in the Hong Kong capital market. Hong Kong is a bridge to [the mainland] and it allows repatriation of profits and more flexibility of capital movements. That is important for us as a foreign investor," said dos Santos, a son of Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos.

The fund's international investments in Hong Kong would be mainly in government bonds, bonds issued by the mainland's state-owned enterprises and currency instruments, he said. "Hong Kong is a platform for investment in the yuan. We will see whether it is a good investment avenue."

During his recent visit to Hong Kong, dos Santos held talks with InvestHK, the government investment agency in the city, he said.

The Angolan fund, established in 2012, currently has US$5 billion under management.

Over the next two years, the fund would invest half its portfolio into mainly government bonds and bonds of large companies in the Group of Seven economies as well as "solid emerging economies like China", said dos Santos. "Hong Kong is the hub to make international investments into the mainland," he said.

The fund would invest the other half in infrastructure, agriculture, mining and hospitality projects in sub-Saharan Africa, dos Santos added. "We are looking for co-investors in Hong Kong that are prepared to take such risks."