LUANDA (Reuters) -One of Angola’s top banks BFA will launch the country’s biggest ever initial public offering on Friday, seeking to raise as much as $240 million as the government looks to kick-start a privatisation drive.
The Southern African oil-producing country has been gradually opening up its state-dominated economy to more private investment, with a handful of IPOs on the local stock exchange since the first listing in 2022.
Angolan telecoms company Unitel, controlled by the state, is selling a 15% stake in BFA, while Portuguese bank Banco BPI, a unit of Spain’s Caixabank, is selling a 14.75% stake.
Currently Unitel owns roughly 52% of BFA and BPI 48%.
The IPO will run from Friday until September 25.
BFA Chief Executive Luis Roberto Goncalves told Reuters the IPO aimed to boost the development of Angola’s capital markets.
“The strategy defined by the shareholders is to diversify and expand the participation of institutional and private investors,” Goncalves said in an interview.
“This operation is an excellent opportunity to attract international investors, given the size of the offer,” he said.
BPI has been trying to sell its stake in BFA since 2017 following the European Central Bank’s recommendation that it reduce its exposure to Angola.
BFA made a net profit of 205.8 billion kwanzas ($225.67 million) last year, with a return on equity of 33.7%, the bank said in a presentation to investors on Thursday.
BFA will be the third Angolan bank listed on the BODIVA exchange after BAI and Caixa Angola.
The government hopes BFA’s IPO will encourage more listings.
It is preparing to sell a 30% stake in national oil champion Sonangol, seen as the crown jewel of the privatisation push, and shares in Unitel.
BODIVA was founded in 2014, but with Angola’s economy dominated by state companies – a legacy of its socialist past – it has mainly served as a market for government bonds.
($1 = 911.9550 kwanzas)
(Reporting by Miguel Gomes;Writing by Anathi Madubela and Sfundo Parakozov;Editing by Alexander Winning and Susan Fenton)
