(Bloomberg) -- Angola’s government is preparing the sale of foreign currency bonds as the oil-producing nation tries to increase the supply of dollars in the economy and ease the pressure on the local currency, the kwanza.

The Finance Ministry plans to offer foreign-currency bonds due in 2031 and 2034 through a book building process, it said in a statement late on Monday. It didn’t say when the sale would take place or how much it planned to raise from the offering.

“The sale of bonds in foreign currency will allow local investors to exchange kwanzas for securities in dollars. It’s a way to ease the pressure on the kwanza,” said Antonio Catana, chief executive officer of Standard Asset Management, a unit of Standard Bank Group Ltd. “This long-term debt sale also allows investors to hedge the exchange-rate risk in Angola.”

A finance ministry spokeswoman wasn’t immediately available to comment on the timing or size of the sale. Foreign currency bond offerings can be denominated in different currencies such as dollars and euros.

Inflationary pressures in the southwestern African nation mounted last year after the Angolan treasury briefly abstained from dollar sales. The move triggered a sharp depreciation of the kwanza, which has lost about 40% of its value against the dollar over the past 12 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The Treasury sold $300 million of foreign currency to commercial banks at an auction last month. 

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