AfrOil: No deadline for Sonangol IPO yet

Angola’s government is gearing up for the partial privatisation of the national oil company (NOC) Sonangol but has not yet set a target date, according to Edson Pongolola, the director of the firm’s planning and control department.

Speaking in late December, Pongolola confirmed that Luanda was still preparing to unload 30% of the NOC’s equity through an initial public offering (IPO) of stock and might begin the process before the end of 2022, in line with previous statements. He also stressed, though, that the government would not schedule the IPO until it was certain that the company was a sufficiently attractive prospect.

“Sonangol’s privatisation exercise does not [have to] end in 2022,” he said in statements broadcast by Radio Nacional de Angola (RNA). The sale process may “extend for as long as it takes to adjust the company’s attractiveness [in light of] market conditions so that it is prepared to be privatised on the national and international stock exchanges.”