The Fundo Soberano de Angola (FSDEA), Angola's $5bn Sovereign Wealth Fund, is seeking investments in mining, timber, health and agriculture as it seeks to diversify its asset base and increase returns.

“A large portion of the portfolio is invested in international securities,” Jose Filomeno dos Santos, the fund’s chairman, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Cape Town.

“We are looking at several opportunities. We wouldn’t want to give away these opportunities by disclosing what they are before they are completely settled,” he said.

Headquartered in Luanda, Angola, the Fund currently manages a substantial investment portfolio.

FSDEA is managed by Zug, Switzerland-based Quantum Global Investment Management.

In accordance with Fundo Soberano de Angola’s investment policy and guidelines its portfolio will gradually be diversified across a number of industries and asset classes including global private and public stocks; bonds; foreign currencies; financial derivatives; commodities; treasury bills; and real estate and infrastructure funds.

It has allocated $1.1bn toward investing in toll roads, ports and other infrastructure projects and $500m toward hotels.

The SWF also plans to spend about $250m on agriculture projects.

“We are really long-term investors and not looking for quick wins. All of our funds have a 10-year horizon. What we find in our region of the world, in Africa, particularly in Angola, is that the safest way to invest is as the project starts,” Dos Santos said.

“That’s when potential mistakes regarding the viability assessments of such projects can be made and when more care should be taken regarding the implementation,” he added.

On Wednesday, Angola’s parliament approved a revised budget that will cut spending to 5.4 trillion kwanzas ($50 billion) this year, down from 7.3 trillion kwanzas proposed in December.

Oil accounts for about 70% of the southwest African nation’s income.

Allocations to the fund are the prerogative of the government, which will have to decide how best to use the revenue it collects, Dos Santos said.

Dos Santos is the eldest son of President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, who has been in power since 1979. He denied there was anything untoward about his appointment, which complied with government regulations.

“I’ve been in the finance industry. I’ve worked in insurance initially and then banking. A lot of activities we are doing as managers of state assets are in the financial field. It’s really been a natural progression,” he said.