By Henrique Almeida
LUANDA (Reuters) - Angola has suspended plans to sell bonds to foreign investors until it concludes a budget review in July that will determine the nation's financing needs, a senior official at Angola's Economy Ministry said on Thursday.
Angola said in November it aimed to sell $4 billion in bonds to international investors this year. It also said on May 4 it would issue $2 billion in local debt.
But Carlos Panzo, director of the macro-economic department at the Economy Ministry, said all debt sales were on hold until the budget was approved in July.
"We expect the budget review to be concluded in July. Only then will the government be able to determine the nation's financing needs," Panzo told Reuters in an interview. "We have a range of options on the table regarding how we will finance our budget".
Global rating agencies gave oil-producing Angola a debut "B+" sovereign credit rating last week, the same as Nigeria, paving the way for sub-Saharan Africa's third biggest economy to access international debt markets.
Angola first announced in November it had hired JP Morgan to advise it on the $4 billion bond sale following a slump in oil prices in 2008 and early 2009.
