Angola’s central bank, the Banco Nacional de Angola (BNA), has moved to allow commercial banks to use the Chinese yuan to meet mandatory foreign currency reserve requirements, adding the Chinese currency to a basket that previously comprised only the US dollar, the euro and the South African rand.
According to Reuters, the change is set out in an instruction dated 2 July and published on Thursday, 9 July, on the central bank’s official portal.
Mandatory reserves represent the funds that banks are required to hold with the central bank, with the aim of safeguarding financial stability and ensuring efficient liquidity management within the banking system.
The inclusion of the yuan reflects the growing importance of the Chinese currency across Africa, driven by China’s position as the continent’s largest trading partner and one of its principal sources of infrastructure project financing.
Despite the decision, the US dollar remains by far the dominant reserve and international trade currency.
Nevertheless, in recent years a number of emerging economies have intensified efforts to reduce their dependence on the US currency, motivated by concerns over exposure to American sanctions, the cost of international transactions, and shifts in the global balance of economic power.
Angola is one of China’s leading suppliers of crude oil. Over the past several years, Beijing has extended billions of dollars in loans to the southern African country to finance infrastructure projects, deepening economic ties between the two nations.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/07/13/mundo/angola/angola-bna-autoriza-uso-do-yuan-para-reservas-em-moeda-estrangeira/
