Angola Plans to Sell Stakes in Biggest Telecom Company, Banks This Year

Via Bloomberg, an article on Angola’s plans to sell stakes in several large companies in 2025:

  • Minister Massano says sales are part of privatization program

  • Some asset sales will be carried out through the stock market

Angola plans to sell stakes in its biggest telecommunications company, Unitel SA, and two lenders in the coming months to attract investors, Minister of State for Economic Coordination Jose de Lima Massano said.

“In the coming months we are privatizing our telecommunications company Unitel,” Massano said in an interview with Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum in Davos late Tuesday. “Part of it is being done through the stock exchange.”

Africa’s third-largest oil producer will also dispose of stakes in Banco de Fomento Angola, its second-largest lender, and Standard Bank Group Ltd.’s local unit, he said.

Read More: Angola Expects Listings to Double by 2027, Bourse CEO Says

The three companies are among the largest of almost 200 state-owned firms and assets the government initially earmarked for disposal in 2019 to raise cash and diversify the economy away from oil.

More than half of those companies have since been privatized, the minister said.

“We have decided to embark on a massive program to privatize state-owned entities,” said Massano. “It’s happening.”

Portuguese Holdings

Still, investors wanting to invest in the state’s oil company Sonangol or its diamond firm Endiama will have to wait a bit longer.

“We are still working on it, the desire is still there. It’s present,” said Massano. “The companies require some internal work that is being done by the management so that when they come to the market they deliver what was promised.”

As for Portuguese lender Banco Comercial Portugues SA and oil company Galp Energia SGPS SA, the government will retain its stakes, said Massano.

It holds 19.5% of BCP through Sonangol and an indirect stake in Galp through the Amorim Energia venture, which owns 37% of the Portuguese oil firm.

Both BCP and Galp have significantly increased their market value over the past year by about 88% and 25% respectively.

“The performance of those assets is positive,” said Massano. “We see no need or have any strategic goal at this point to leave those entities.”



This entry was posted on Friday, January 24th, 2025 at 9:30 am and is filed under Angola.  You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.  Both comments and pings are currently closed. 

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