"BAI's operation was a success, and reflects not only the efforts of the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, to reform the banking sector, which so far has been a success, but also the macroeconomic environment, which is frankly better," he said. Marisa Lourenço, speaking to Lusa, following the stock exchange operation on Thursday.
"Two years ago, it was predicted that Angola would go the way of Zambia, the first 'default' [financial default] due to covid in Africa, but it managed not only to avoid the worst, but even to supplant the regional partner Ghana this year, which is also an unforeseen event", pointed out the analyst.
BAI was the first entity to open the Luanda stock exchange, combining share trading with public debt transactions, and may open the door to Caixa Geral Angola and Millennium banks, before larger public companies such as Sonangol or Endiama , follow the same path, probably closer to 2025, said the exchange's president, Walter Pacheco, at the official opening session of the transactions, on Thursday.
Going to the BAI stock exchange is explained by two reasons, Marisa Lourenço told Lusa, stressing that, "on the one hand, it is an opportune moment after the new economic cycle that the country managed to print and, on the other hand, it is a reflection of reforms in the financial sector".
Asked whether it would be reasonable to expect several public sales offers from private companies or from others recently privatized, Marisa Lourenço replied that it depends on the sector, but it is not inevitable.
The interest of foreign investors, even so, is real: "Investors' appetite is very positive, which was evident not only in this operation, but had already been demonstrated by the sale of public debt securities in the international market [Eurobond], which also had more demand than supply", said the analyst.
Angola, she pointed out, "is somehow seen as a safe bet during a time of turmoil in the region; it is high risk, but not too high, and the payoff is too great to ignore."
Asked about the possibility of privatizing Sonangol, the 'jewel in the crown' of the privatization program, which provides for the privatization of 30 percent of the oil company, Marisa Lourenço replied that the process is complex.
"Assets in the oil sector are generally attractive as the sector is the mainstay of the Angolan economy, but Sonangol is plagued by concerns about limited transparency, a legacy of the dos Santos era, and doubts about its own commitment of João Lourenço in the reform of the company, but the interest of investors in financial assets should remain strong if there is another trip to the stock market in this sector", he concluded.
