IBERSOL • 2023 Integrated Management Report

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE REPORT at 2.7%. This trend will result from the delayed effects of monetary policy tightening and restrictive financial conditions, alongside weak global investment and trade. Also noteworthy are the risks of a possible escalation of conflicts in the Middle East, which could lead to a rise in oil prices, and extreme meteorological phenomena, which mainly affect the agriculture, energy and fisheries sectors. This context could be particularly challenging for some developing economies with high levels of debt and highly dependent on the primary sector. In particular, the European Commission’s forecasts for the EU economy point to lower growth rates than in 2023. In 2024, growth is expected to reach 0.9 per cent (compared to 1.3 per cent in 2023) in the EU and 0.8 per cent (compared to 0.6 per cent in 2023) in the euro area. Meanwhile, inflation in the eurozone is expected to fall from 5.4 per cent in 2023 to 2.7 per cent in 2024 and then to 2.1 per cent in 2025. InPortugal, despitea significant drop in inflation levels, lowunemployment levels and a favourable evolution of the economic climate figures and the consumer confidence indicator towards the end of 2023, a climate of some political instability is expected in 2024, which could have negative effects on economic evolution, particularly in terms of a downturn in investment. Growth forecasts have therefore been revised downwards to 1.2 to 1,6 per cent and inflation is expected to be between 2.8 and 3.4 per cent. In Spain, growth is expected to be 1.6 per cent, down from 2.4 per cent in 2023. Inflation, which averaged 3.4 per cent in Spain in 2023, should moderate to 3.3 per cent in 2024 and 2.0 per cent in 2025, according to European Commission forecasts. In 2024, the Angolan economy faces five major risks: the behaviour of the oil price, the high weight of public debt (internal and external), the potential negative contagion effect on the financial sector resulting from the transition to a flexible exchange rate regime, shocks to public debt (from low GDP growth and the possible fall in the price of the barrel of oil) and, finally, a more than expected (planned) decline in oil production. Even so, the Angolan government predicts growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of around 3 per cent, up from the initial forecast of 2.5 per cent and despite the 3.2 per cent drop in the oil sector. The Ibersol Group keeps a close eye on the evolution of the entire 324