"The IPO [BFA's sale on the stock exchange] process is going very well. We believe that the IPO will take place in the summer", said João Pedro Oliveira e Costa in July at the press conference to present the first quarter accounts (profits of 137 million euros) in Lisbon.
The manager said that the preparation of the operation involving BPI and Unitel (the two shareholders of BFA) is going well, with an "unshakable ability to meet ideas and principles" between the two, but that he cannot yet talk about interested parties in the purchase as the price at which the bank will be put up for sale has not yet been finalized nor have contacts with investors been made.
"At this moment, we cannot talk about interested parties, there is not even a final value, we are finalizing the final details in this regard and the 'road show' [contacts with investors] has not yet started", he said.
Currently, BFA is 51.9 percent owned by the state-owned telecommunications operator Unitel (nationalised in 2022, including Isabel dos Santos' stake) and 48.1 percent by BPI.
Since 2017, BPI has been recommended by the European Central Bank (ECB) to reduce its exposure to Angola, as it considers that Angolan supervision is not equivalent to European supervision.
João Pedro Oliveira e Costa said that 29.75 percent of BFA will be sold on the stock exchange in July, with 15 percent by Unitel and 14.75 percent by BPI.
BPI explained this Monday that BFA is valued at 650 million euros, so the 14.75 percent stake is equivalent to 95 million euros.
Oliveira e Costa said he believes that, taking into account the current assessment of the banking sector, BPI will be able to sell the 14.75 percent of BFA above its book value.
"We expect the transaction to be above book value. Our expectations are very positive, it is one of the best banking institutions on the African continent, with very stable results and a high reputation", said Oliveira e Costa.
If the sale of BPI's stake is completed, it will have a stake in BFA of around 33 percent.
Oliveira e Costa said that this reduction in stake will leave the ECB "more comfortable", but also that, in the future, BPI may reduce its stake further (through sales) if there are interested parties.
Even now, he said, the supervisor "has not shown any signs of concern", which he attributes both to the Angolan bank's behaviour and to the Angolan government's initiatives to bring Angolan supervision methodologies closer to those of Europe.
The BPI chairman added that, even with its stake in BFA reduced to 33 percent, BPI will maintain decision-making and blocking power in BFA.
As he explained, it was agreed with Unitel and the Angolan state that any change in the articles of association, dividend policy or government cannot be made without BPI's agreement.
"I cannot be in a market so distant that I do not have the capacity to speak", said Oliveira e Costa, considering that this safeguarding of BPI's rights and its maintenance as an important shareholder of BFS will also provide security to new investors.
The sale of part of BFA will be made on the Luanda stock exchange. "It will be the largest operation to be carried out on the still young Angolan stock exchange, it will be a challenge, but we believe that it is one of the best assets available to investors", he stated.
BPI announced this Monday that it had profits of 137 million euros in the first three months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 13 percent.
The increase in profits is due to the accounting of dividends from Banco de Fomento Angola (BFA) for 2024, of 46 million euros, since the financial margin (a bank's main revenue, the difference between interest charged on loans and interest paid on deposits) fell 9 percent to 223 million euros.
In the activity in Portugal alone, profit fell 13 percent year-on-year, to 98 million euros.
