Angola did not ask China for a two-year moratorium on debt repayments, the Angolan Ministry of Finance has said. The statement denied a report by Angolan news agency Angop that Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos had presented such request during his State visit to China.

News agencies Bloomberg and Reuters cited the Angolan Government’s clarification on Friday, saying the previous news reports were “incorrect”, and that neither the Angolan President nor any Angola Minister had requested financial or official Chinese entities for a freeze on Angola’s debts.

The news about the two-year moratorium was published by Angop on June 10. It said the request had been made by Mr dos Santos in Beijing, during the opening of the official conversations with his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping.

Now, according to Portuguese newspaper Económico – which quotes Bloomberg –, the Angolan Ministry of Finance stated that the negotiations between the two Governments were about finding ways to allow investment to continue, “without compromising the current debt portfolio, especially taking into account the low prices in the oil market”.