By Miguel Gomes
LUANDA (Reuters) – The initial public offering (IPO) of a 10% stake in Angola’s largest private bank BAI, seen as a test case in a far-reaching privatisation push, has been priced at the top of an indicated range, BAI said on Wednesday.
The southern African country is trying to modernise its economy and attract private investment, and the local stock exchange hopes BAI’s listing will set the stage for many more.
BAI said in a statement that the final price of the shares offered by state-owned oil and diamond companies Sonangol and Endiama had been set at 20,640 kwanzas (roughly $50) per share.
A prospectus had earlier indicated the price range was between 17,200 and 20,640 kwanzas.
At 20,640 kwanzas, the 10% stake sale will raise over $97 million, according to a Reuters calculation.
OPEC member Angola plans to privatise more than 60 state assets this year, though the sale of a 30% stake in Sonangol, seen as the crown jewel of the privatisation drive, could take another two years.
BAI said more details about the IPO would be disclosed on Thursday, ahead of the listing planned on the BODIVA exchange on June 9.
BODIVA was founded in 2014. But with Angola’s economy dominated by state-owned companies – a legacy of its socialist past – the exchange has mainly served as a market for government bonds, trading debt of around $2 billion in 2020.
($1 = 411.7300 kwanzas)
(Reporting by Miguel Gomes; Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by Barbara Lewis)
