As South Korea expands its interests in Africa, the nations of the region will have to do more to distinguish themselves in order to attract foreign direct investment from global brands such as Samsung, Hyundai and Daewoo, according to Angola’s top diplomat here.

“With more cooperation comes more competition. We need to show Korea that Angola could be the best partner in Africa,” Angolan Ambassador to South Korea Albino Malungo said in a special interview with The Korea Herald on Thursday for the 38th anniversary of Angola’s Independence Day at his office in Seoul. 

On Nov. 11, 1975, the southern African nation obtained its independence from former colonial power Portugal.

Although South Korean interest in Angola is increasing, Mulango said that the level of cooperation between his country and South Korea could be better.

“We need to do more. I am still not so happy with the current level of cooperation between South Korea and Angola. We need to do more, and I believe we will do more,” he said. “I can see (President Park Geun-hye) has a real understanding of what Africa can mean for Korea’s strategic needs.”

Angola produces about 2 million barrels of oil a day for export, making it, with Nigeria, one of the two largest energy producers in Africa.

Samsung Heavy Industries teamed up with a leading European offshore contractor to build offshore oil and gas production platforms and storage facilities valued at $1.7 billion in an offshore oil field off the coast of Angola.

The deal was inked after Samsung Corp. Vice Chairman Hyun Myung-kwan met with Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and government officials in August.

These deals could be just the beginning of broad economic cooperation that includes Samsung and other big South Korean names in construction, energy and logistics, as well as the textile, agricultural and petrochemical industries.

Oil-backed credit lines from China ― Angola is China’s No. 1 oil supplier ― have fueled a building boom in development projects like the Samsung deal. Average life expectancy rose from 45 in 2002 to 51 in 2011, and the average Angolan now has nine years of schooling compared to five in 2000.

Angola is routinely ranked as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, but what is less recognized is the country’s political stability, democratic institutions and social cohesion.

All this would have been impossible without national independence, Malungo said.

“It is the most important day in all our history, more important than the day of peace, because our dignity as human beings was recovered on that day,” he said.

“All Angolans were born on the same day, on Independence Day. It means after 500 years of struggle ― fighting against poverty, foreign occupation, discrimination, and humiliation ― were fulfilled on Nov. 11, 1975.”

Diplomatic relations between Angola and South Korea were established in 1992, with special attention on trade and investment. South Korea opened an embassy in July 2007 and Angola set up its embassy here in October 2008 with Albino Malungo then as non-resident ambassador. The two nations celebrated the 20th anniversary of those ties last year.

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering signed an agreement with the Angola’s state-run oil company, Sonangol, for a 30 percent stake in a shipyard producing offshore installations in the central coast port town of Porto Amboim.

Daewoo is also delivering to Angola in December one of five super tankers that the company agreed to build in a $350 million deal in 2010. The tankers are a massive 160,000 deadweight tons.

In addition to household names like Samsung and Daewoo, there are about 50 Korean companies doing business in Angola,.

The ambassador said he was pleased with the trajectory of ties in recent months.

He met with IMF Africa Department director Antoinette Monsio Sayeh in Seoul last week, adding that Sayeh said global opinion of Angola’s financial health is positive.

Malungo said he is confident that South Korea will expand its interests in Africa due to the new leadership shown at the Ministry of Foreign Affair’s Africa Division.

Between 2002 and 2008, gross domestic product rose 260 percent and the average annual growth rate registered 14.6 percent. Even taking into account the inflation rate, the Living Conditions Index of the Angolan population registered an annual average increase of 20 percent.

Angola had the highest annual GDP growth in the world from 2001-2012 at about 11 percent. Its per capita income increased from $1,000 to $9,000 in 10 years. The country’s $5 billion Sovereign Fund and its large foreign currency reserves could safeguard the nation from future shocks coming from oil price volatility.

These two measures could go a long way in helping the southern African nation cultivate a dynamic investment climate, as well as helping it in diversifying its economy away from energy-related sectors.

Angola is committed to continuing this development trajectory with South Korea as a partner, Malungo said.

By Philip Iglauer (ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)