Sebastião Gaspar Martins, who presented this Friday at a press conference in Luanda, information on the company's performance in 2021, coinciding with its 46th anniversary, added that Sonangol has accumulated 18 assets sold (totally or partially) since start of the Privatization Program (PROPRIV) with a total financial inflow of 84 million dollars.
Currently, 13 assets are being evaluated and prepared, and tenders have been opened for the hotels Suite Maianga, Florence, Rio Mar and Hotel de Convenções de Talatona in the form of assignment of the right to operate and manage.
He also highlighted, last year, the revitalization of Sonair (aviation company) which is now supporting some 'offshore' operations and the renewal of the contract of Sonils (a subsidiary linked to logistics) with the port of Luanda.
He guaranteed, on the other hand, that the oil company continues with the objective of selling up to 30 percent of its capital on the stock exchange, so it continues its optimization process, which began with the separation of the concessionary function from the business activity.
"That was the beginning, this company is preparing to go public", he said, stressing that it is necessary to ensure, however, that the company "is completely clean" so that people can buy the shares.
"We are doing this work", he underlined, refusing to assume deadlines.
"I would ask for a bit of patience because the most important thing should not be the pressure of having to happen this year" but the fact of being placed on the stock exchange with sufficient profitability, he stressed.
"There is pressure to privatize, but everyone knows that there are situations that need to be resolved first and that is what we are doing", said the same official, stressing that the objective is "to separate what is the State and what is company".
"Let us work, let us prepare the company so that it is really in good condition", reinforced Gaspar Martins.
The chairman of Sonangol also assumed that the estimated cash inflow of around 6.6 billion dollars, presented last year, should be reassessed, taking into account oil prices and the availability of reserves.
"There is an improvement in the market (...) this will probably imply a different valuation of our reserves, so we are working on continuous reassessment and when the time comes, we will be able to share [the expectation of value]", he declared.
Asked about his intentions with regard to Banco Económico (former BESA), Gaspar Martins said that, as it is a financial asset, Sonangol should in principle be excluded from that participation, adding that the oil company is working with the authorities that monitor this process "to understand better" what is happening with the shares that have been delivered.
Sonangol regained control of Banco Económico in August 2019, and is now the largest shareholder, with 70.38 percent of the bank's capital. The previous shareholder structure consisted of Lektron Capital (30.98 percent), Geni Novas Tecnologias (19.9 percent), Sonangol EP (16 percent), Sonangol Vida SA (16 percent), Novo Banco SA (9 .72 percent) and Sonangol Holding Lda (7.4 percent).
Geni and Lektron Capital benefited from state financing, through Sonangol, for the acquisition of shareholdings in Banco Económico, according to a survey carried out by the National Asset Recovery Service of the Attorney General's Office (PGR).
Subsequently, Banco Económico was forced to raise capital to comply with the requirements of the Angolan regulator.
In January, the governor of the National Bank of Angola (BNA), José de Lima Massano, advised state oil company Sonangol to accompany Banco Económico's capital increase in order to remain in the financial institution's shareholder structure.
The capital increase of Banco Económico (BE), ex-BESA (Banco Espírito Santo de Angola) is a requirement of the central bank included in the Recapitalization and Restructuring Plan approved on 21 December 2021, following the assessment made to the quality of banking assets in 2018, in which the BNA detected a deficiency in its capital.
The decision will have an impact on Novobanco, which owns 9.72 percent of the Angolan institution, and on the Portuguese Resolution Fund, as the capital increase will involve the conversion of the 340 million dollars loan made by Novo Banco to the former Banco Espírito Santo. Santo Angola (BESA) in 2014 and depositors' money.
