ANGOLA HIRES SQUIRE PATTON BOGGS: The government of Angola has hired Squire Patton Boggs lobbyists to represent the former Portuguese colony in Washington. Robert Kapla and Joe Brand will lead a team of Squire Patton Boggs lobbyists who will work to secure help for Angola to reform its banking sector, attract international investment and find allies in Washington, according to a contract filed with the Justice Department. David Stewart, James Sivon, Dave Schnittger and Rory Murphy of Squire Patton Boggs have registered to represent the country, along with Kapla.

Angola’s longtime ruler, José Eduardo dos Santos, relinquished the presidency in 2017. The new president, João Lourenço, is seeking closer ties to Washington. Lourenço “is currently engaged in a robust political transition in Angola, and it’s a tough one because it involves battling a 38-year history of deeply embedded corruption,” Kapla said in an interview. “And he wants to change that.” The last bank in Angola to offer transactions denominated in U.S. dollars, Deutsche Bank, left the market in 2016, according to the Commerce Department, and much of Squire Patton Boggs’ work is expected to focus on winning support to rebuild the country’s banking system so that such banks return. The contract is worth $4.1 million dollars a year and lasts one year, with an option to renew for a second year.

Publicação da autoria de Fonte Externa:
Politico
02/07/2019