• Sonangol continues preparations for planned IPO

• Financial debt rose to $4.12 billion in 2024

• Angola narrows privatization list under PROPRIV program

Angola’s state oil company Sonangol is moving ahead with plans to enter the capital markets. Company executives confirmed that preparations for an initial public offering, or IPO, are continuing during a press conference in Luanda on Wednesday, Feb. 25.

Baltazar Miguel, a member of the board of directors, told reporters that technical work on the IPO remains underway. “There is a lot of work underway for the IPO,” he said.

Executives added that internal teams are continuing to work on the requirements for a future listing. In 2023, the IPO was scheduled for 2027. At the same time, the company is pursuing a reorganization launched in recent years, including a renewed focus on its core oil operations and structural changes previously announced by the government.

Management also said financial restructuring efforts are continuing. According to Sonangol’s 2024 consolidated financial report, the group’s financial debt, including short- and long-term loans, stood at about $4.12 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024, compared with roughly $3.87 billion a year earlier. Total consolidated liabilities reached nearly $16.6 billion at the same date.

Revised structure of the privatization program

The Sonangol IPO forms part of the broader Privatization of State-Owned Enterprises Program, known as PROPRIV. Launched in 2019, the program aims to reduce the state’s role in the economy, attract private investment, create jobs and increase tax revenue. It provides for the sale of state holdings and assets through mechanisms including share offerings, stock exchange auctions and public tenders.

Originally set to run through 2023, PROPRIV was extended to 2026 by presidential decree. On Feb. 24, the program’s interministerial commission announced it had reduced the number of targeted assets from 49 to 10 companies by the end of the year. The revised approach focuses on strategic sectors such as telecommunications, banking, mining, aviation and media.

The asset list was revised as some major state-owned groups, including Sonangol, saw adjustments to their privatization timelines, with no firm schedule announced.

Since the program’s launch in 2019, the Angolan state has initiated the sale of 103 public assets through direct transactions or IPOs. Between 2019 and 2024, these operations total about 1 trillion kwanzas in contracts, equivalent to roughly $1.04 billion. Of that amount, more than 640 billion kwanzas, or around $664 million, has been collected.

Abdel-Latif Boureima