IBERSOL | Annual Report 2021

ANNUAL REPORT 2021 comparatively slower recovery, stand out. The Spanish GDP growth rate reached 2.2% in the fourth quarter of 2021, 0.4 percentage points lower than the previous quarter. The epidemio- logical situation, marked by a peak of infections due to the expansion of the Omicron strain of Covid-19, conditioned the evolution of activity in the last few months of last year, although less intensely than with previous waves of infection. Therefore, the growth of GDP in the fourth quarter benefited both from net external demand – although to a lesser degree than the previous quarter – and from internal demand. The more recent macroeconomic framework points to an average GDP growth rate of 4.5% in 2022. Over the next two years forecasts predict that activity will continue to be very dynamic, which will lead to 2.9% and 2.5% growth of the Spanish economy in 2023 and 2024, respec- tively. In this scenario, recovery to pre-pandemic levels should occur in the third quarter of 2023. Situation in Angola Recent IMF figures indicate that the economic impact of the pandemic in 2021 – in the internal market and in commodity imports – began to diminish. Higher oil prices and the relaxation of more disruptive internal containment measures strengthened Angola’s financial situation and supported the recovery of the non-oil sector. Although the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases reached a new high in October, infection rates fell rapidly with tailored restrictions and the acceleration of the vaccina- tion process. In the first half of 2021 the growth of non-oil GDP accelerated to 5.7%, whereas oil production contracted by 15.5%. The agricultural sector proved resilient to the severe drought of the beginning of the year, ac- companied by strong growth of the fishing sector. Trade recovered above pre-pandemic levels, although the construction sector has been recovering more slowly. Inflation reached 26.6% in September, year-on-year, boosted by factors on the side of supply, with monthly inflation still increasing. Inflation be- gan to rise in early 2020, with the sharp devaluation of the Kwanza dur- ing the year. Following the stabilisation of the Kwanza, in 2021, pressure 13