Angolan state to raise €1 billion in privatizations from 2019 to 2022

The Angolan government has signed contracts for privatizing 92 assets and companies amounting to €1.6 billion, of which it pocketed €1 billion.

According to the Angolan Finance Minister, at the opening of the presentation ceremony of the extension of the Privatization Program (Propriv) 2023-2026, the Angolan authorities are pleased with the results achieved in the first phase of the program (2019-2022), which allowed to guarantee 2,763 direct jobs, of which 1,233 new jobs and maintenance of 1,530 of the old ones.

Vera Daves de Sousa said that from 2019 to 2022, 92 assets and companies were privatized, 11 national reference companies, 20 participated companies and assets of Sonangol, a state oil company, 30 industrial units of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ), and 31 other companies and assets.

The holder of the Finance portfolio underlined that through Propriv, the first shares listed on the Debt and Securities Exchange of Angola (Bodiva) were started, namely those of BAI and Caixa Geral de Angola, “making it possible for the privatization of social participations on the stock exchange held by the State to also contribute to a better redistribution of national income, through the appropriate dispersion of its capital, paying particular attention to small subscribers.”

For Vera Daves, besides the fact that Propriv’s indicators are positive compared to expectations, they show that privatizations correspond to a mechanism that enhances the celebration of macroeconomic restructuring, foreseen in the pillars of state reform.

“The results reinforce the executive’s strong commitment to macroeconomic stability, the continuity of public finance reform, the constant improvement of the business environment, the stimulation of the private sector, and the efficiency of the public business sector,” he stressed.

The president of the board of directors of the Institute for the Management of State Assets and Participations (IGAPE), Patrício Vilar, said that the first phase of the program included a total of 178 assets and companies, and 92 assets and companies were privatized, representing a success rate of 62%.

According to Vilar, of the amount collected by the state over the last three years, €106.3 million were transferred to the state account, €187.5 million to Sonangol, and €12.2 million to other companies.

Patrício Vilar stressed that the “highly challenging” context for national business people contributed to the retraction in payments, given that the launch of Propriv took place in an environment of recession.

“This program had to go hand in hand with our entrepreneurs and allow payments deferred in time, and thanks to this, some of our farms today are being developed with a lot of effort from these entrepreneurs, but also with our support in the sense of having given them this grace period and period of payments deferred in time, even so, the effort that these entrepreneurs make is titanic”, he considered.

Regarding the value in breach of contracts, with a rate of 1.2%, €11.8 million were registered, assets that have already been recovered, some of which have already been privatized.

Patrício Vilar noted that of the 92 assets, 84 were privatized via a public tender and five via prior qualification, also referring to the privatization of assets abroad, mainly Sonangol holdings.

The president of IGAPE pointed out that the initial fear that the program would only be for foreign business people “ended up being directed in these first three years much more for nationals,” with 90% of Angolan business people.

With information from Lusa