Angola said there are currently no negotiations taking place with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) about a possible new financial-assistance programme.

“As part of the preparation of medium-term fiscal projections, the Ministry of Finance requested a note from the IMF that aimed to update its technical vision on response options to risk scenarios,” the department said in a statement Tuesday.

“This type of request to the IMF is common in the context of technical interactions, and there are currently no negotiations on a possible financial assistance programme,” it said.

The comment took place after Jornal de Negocios reported earlier on Tuesday that the IMF was finalising a loan for Angola that could be valued between $3-billion to $5-billion. The Portuguese newspaper didn’t say where it got the information.

In October, Finance Minister Vera Daves de Sousa said Angola and the IMF were discussing options about a possible new programme and what type of loan would better fit the oil-producing country’s needs.