Angola still not setting deadline for sale of 30% of Sonangol via IPO

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.”

Additionally, he said that Luanda might not sell 30% of Sonangol all at once but might float shares in several smaller tranches instead. The IPO “should not necessarily start with 30% because it is a complex exercise, but it could start with privatisations at lower percentages, depending on the attractiveness of the proposals” received from potential investors, he explained.

Pongolola did not say exactly how much the Angolan government hoped to collect from the sale. According to previous reports, Sonangol’s president Sebastiao Gaspar Martins has suggested that the IPO may generate proceeds of around €5-7bn ($5.65-7.92bn).