Published in furtherafrica.com
Almost fourteen years after the signature of the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) with Spain and more than four years after the signature of the BIT with United Arab Emirates (UAE), the official content of both BITs was finally published in Angolan Official Gazette.
Signed with an hiatus of almost ten years, these international instruments exemplify the Angolan effort of last decades to adopt investment-friendly policies at different levels and open its economy to external investment, becoming one of the most attractive countries to invest in Africa.
Both treaties permit the intensification of the economic relationship and cooperation between the two countries and Angola, with mutual benefits and greater stimulation and prosperity for their economies, through favorable and equitable conditions for investments performed by investors of the contracting countries.
The most important rules foreseen in both treaties, among others, are:
- Angola compromises to grant to Spanish and Emirati investors, a treatment so favorable as the treatment given to the most favored foreign investors.
- Angola also compromises to give a fair and equitable treatment to those investments and that will not impose any discriminatory or arbitrary measure which obstructs the normal development, management, sale or settlement of the investment.
- Are also established the conditions in which expropriations may be performed, always involving the payment of an indemnification, which shall be equal to the fair market value which the investment had before the intention of expropriation was made public.
- When a force majeure situation occurs, the investors of each party will have access to the assistance funds in equal position with the national investors.
- The investors have the right to freely transfer to foreign territory amounts related with their investment.
- Any dispute between investor and contracting State regarding an investment may be solved through arbitration by ICSID or UNCITRAL rules.
The entering into force of both treaties reinforces the economic relation of Angola with UAE and Spain, permitting greater investment from investors and companies of these countries and shall be seen as another step on Angola’s investment-friendly integrated and comprehensive policy.