Coca-Cola's new factories in Angola are a true sign that the investment climate is changing

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Angola could be on the way to recovering its position as one of sub-Saharan Africa's leading industrial nations. In the 1970s, along with South Africa, Angola represented a hive of industrial activity on the continent. Increasing military stability and the liberalization of the economy have led to an renewed confidence that Angola can regain its industrial standing.

Although the oil and diamond sectors have remained buoyant throughout the long years of civil war and general decline, the rest of Angola's industry has been at a virtual standstill for decades. One of the major indications that things are moving forward again is the fact that Coca-Cola has opened not just one, but two bottling plants in the country.

With a $36 million investment, Coca-Cola opened a plant in 2000 just outside Luanda at Bom Jesus in Bengo province. This represented the first significant foreign investment in Angola outside oil and diamonds for many years.

Production at the Bom Jesus plant reached 14 million cases per year in the first 12 months of operations. Coca-Cola has now opened a second plant in the southern city of Lubango.

Other foreign companies have been quick to follow Coca-Cola's example. For example, the Chinese company, Guangdong Overseas Construction Corporation, has invested $7.2 million in a motorcycle assembly plant – the first of its kind in Angola.

"Two factors have changed the atmosphere in Angola – the prospects of genuine peace and privatization, with its attractive opportunities for foreign investors," says Angolan Foreign Minister Joao Miranda.

The arrival of companies such as Coca-Cola has also given a major lift to stagnant local industry. One company that has benefited directly from the arrival of Coca-Cola is Angases, a local enterprise founded in 1949 to produce industrial and medical gases.

Angases has won an exclusive contract to supply Coca-Cola with gas, ensuring a more stable future for the company. "There have been some very difficult periods in the life of our company. But Angases has never given up the struggle, and this has paid offÉ. Now that we have Coca-Cola, our future looks very bright," says Angases President Julio Araujo.

Another improving sector is the steel industry, which is in the process of being privatized. Two of Angola's biggest steel processors – Fabrica de Tubos de Angola (FATA) and Metalurgica de Angola (Metang) – are now being managed by Indufer, a private Angolan firm. Indufer has stimulated the revival of these two companies, which have a joint capacity of processing 36,000 tons of steel per year.

The two factories are currently operating at about 50 percent capacity, producing steel pipes and corrugated iron sheets, but are actively looking to diversify. "Although the bulk of our work is related to heavy industry, we are now investing in the construction and tourism sectors because this is where the money lies," says Indufer Chairman Jose Dias dos Santos. "We have had a lot of demand from these sectors, and since 2000, we have been quite successful."

As local industries adapt to take advantage of new opportunities, there is little doubt that the new millennium represents a new beginning for industry in Angola.