With about 200 people counting down to Banco BAI’s share debut, Angola’s stock exchange finally got off the ground.Â
BAI, the southwest African nation’s biggest lender, had 20 buy orders at 21 650 kwanzas (R760) on the bourse known as Bolsa de Divida e Valores de Angola, or Bodiva, 5% more than the the initial public offering price. But there were no sellers.Â
“Today we have reached a new historic milestone,” bourse Chief Executive Officer Walter Pacheco said at the ceremony at the newly built InterContinental hotel. “We come together today to witness the start of a new era for the financial system and the capital markets.”
After more than a decade of delays, the start of trading may help bolster Angolan President Joao Lourenco’s image as a reformer ahead of a general election scheduled for August 24. It could also help spur as many as 20 IPOs in the coming years that aim to attract foreign investment and diversify the nation’s economy away from oil, Pacheco said in an interview late on Wednesday.Â
At least two other listings are expected to take place this year – lenders Banco Caixa Geral Angola SA and Banco Millennium Atlantico – before the larger state-owned oil firm Sonangol and Endiama carry out their IPOs, said Pacheco.Â
“Hopefully, by 2025, these companies will be in a position to list their shares,” said Pacheco, referring to Sonangol and Endiama.Â
There is also a growing interest from closely held companies in a range of sectors to go public, said Pacheco. Angola, Africa’s second-biggest crude producer, has more than 300 companies that have their accounts audited every year, some of which are looking into the benefits of funding their operations through the stock market, he said.
In five to 10 years, Pacheco sees as many as 20 companies trading on the Luanda stock exchange.Â
“At first, the stock market will be dominated by financial companies and oil companies, but then we will see a wave of other companies,†said Pacheco. “We won’t be able to compete with Nigeria and South Africa in the next five years, but we are going to be bigger than most stock exchanges on the continent.â€
BAI may also offer to sell an additional 10% shares at a later date, bank’s Chief Executive Officer Luis Lelis said at the sidelines of the event.-fin24
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