A team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is visiting Angola this week, as the southern African oil exporter inches closer to securing a new loan deal amid mounting financial pressure from falling crude prices.

“Given the current environment of declining oil revenues, a new arrangement with the IMF is more likely,” Angola’s finance minister Vera Daves de Sousa told Reuters.

“We are analysing the full impact on our public finances.”Angola, sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest crude oil producer, was recently forced to make a $200 million (R3.67 billion) payment after JPMorgan demanded additional collateral for its Total Return Swap loan, which is backed by the country’s dollar-denominated bonds.

The IMF did not release specific details about the mission or potential outcomes of the visit.This development comes as Angola intensifies its push for financial stability, with Daves de Sousa noting that the country’s current African Union chairmanship will be used to push for the creation of a continent-wide financial safety net.