According to the president of the institution, part of the Caixabank group, the forecast is that the operation will take place in the first half of 2025, involving an Initial Public Offering of 15% of its stake in the Angolan bank.
The Portuguese Investment Bank (BPI) is selecting international partners to carry out the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of 15% of its stake in Banco Fomento Angola (BFA), but emphasized that its intention is to exit the company’s capital.
“We have already started working groups, together with IGAPE [Institute for the Management of State Assets and Holdings] in Angola, for the preparation of the IPO,” said the bank’s president, João Pedro de Oliveira e Costa, during a press conference in Lisbon.
According to the president of the bank, part of the Caixabank group, the operation is expected to occur in the first half of 2025.
“We are in the phase of selecting international advisors who will support us in drafting the actual dossier,” indicated Pedro de Oliveira e Costa, as cited by Lusa.
Although the bank believes there are interested investors, the Portuguese news agency noted that João Pedro Oliveira e Costa stressed that Angola’s inclusion on the FATF’s grey list could be “somewhat limiting” in the process.
“We regret that this has occurred, but we will continue on our path,” he emphasized, noting that the Angolan government has been adopting the necessary measures to exit this list.
Even so, João Pedro Oliveira e Costa reiterated that BPI’s goal is “during this process and afterwards, to sell 100% of the position” it holds in BFA. “We see the IPO as a path to exit the position we have, which has been announced multiple times,” he said.
Considering that the African market can pose some challenges to a heavily regulated sector like banking, the bank president admitted that he sees “great difficulty in the emergence of international investors from the same sector.”
The Angolan state indirectly holds 51.9% of BFA’s shares through the telecommunications operator Unitel, while the remaining 48.1% of the bank’s capital belongs to the Portuguese group BPI, which has previously tried to reduce its stake in the Angolan banking institution.
The IPO is expected to result in the stock market entry of the equivalent of 30% of BFA’s shares. These shares should be sold through an operation on the Angolan Debt and Securities Exchange (Bodiva).
Initially planned for the 2019-2022 period, with a total of 195 public assets to be privatized, the PROPRIV – Angola Government’s Privatization Program – was extended to the 2023-2026 period through Presidential Decree No. 78/23 of March 28.
BPI presented today the results for the third quarter of this year, with accumulated profits of 444.1 million euros since the beginning of the year, a 14% increase year-over-year.
According to the Portuguese Investment Bank, BFA contributed approximately 39 million euros to the group’s net income, a decrease of 8% compared to the same period in 2023, which João Pedro Oliveira e Costa attributed to the devaluation of the Angolan currency, the kwanza.
Forbes África Lusofona , 11/01/2024
